I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more

I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more

Needle I.D. Cards – & a Give-Away

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Needlework tools and accessories are my One Weakness. I like any tool that helps the embroiderer in some way, whether it makes the embroidery process more delightful, or keeps the embroiderer more organized, or dispels confusion.

Needle I.D. Cards fall into a tool of the latter category: they help dispel confusion. And besides that, they’re just nifty little things to have on hand.

Today, I’d like to show them to you. They’re a new product, they’re quite darling, and if you’re good and you read the whole article, I’ll even give you the opportunity to win a set for yourself.

This is a set of Needle I.D. Cards. They’re sturdy, thick plastic-like cards devoted to needles commonly used by the hand stitcher. There are six cards in the set, covering seven types of needles: chenille, milliner, betweens, sharps, tapestry, and English crewel and French crewel embroidery needles.

Each card has the sizes and shape of the that card’s needle illustrated on the front.

On the back is a description of the needle and what it is used for, along with a pleasant little blurb from Needle History.

While the outer edge of each card may seem merely decorative, in fact, it is useful, too. The lower edge of each card is measured off in 10 mm spaces…

… and the upper outer edge is measured off in 1/4″ spaces. The edges are hard and smooth, so they can be used for a small straight-edge in a pinch.

The usefulness of the Needle ID Cards can be especially seen when you apply a needle to them. Here, I have a #7 English crewel needle, and I laid it on the image of the size 7 needle on the English crewel needle ID card. Perfect fit!

Why is this so handy?

Well, here, I have two unidentified needles stuck in a piece of felt. I can tell by their shape and the sharpness of their point that they are chenille needles. If I didn’t already know what a chenille needle is, I could look at the descriptions of the needles and the images until I found one that matched the unidentified needle. I placed the needle on the card, and found a match in size – it’s a 22 chenille needle.

And the second unidentified needle is a size 20 chenille needle. And now both needles are identified!

All six cards fit nice and neatly into this heavy plastic folder…

… which folds up and closes securely over the cards.

The outside of the folder is slightly opaque so that the bright colors of the cards show through.

And… the icing on the cake… the whole pack is just barely larger than a business card! Perfect for stowing in your workbox and easily toting around with your embroidery stuff!

I think these Needle ID Cards are really cute. I know that sounds like a strange word for something that almost seems entirely utilitarian, but the whole little package is compact, well made, colorful, informative, and fun.

And on top of being cute, they’re smart. Fun. Cute. Smart. Neat.

I think they’d be handy for any stitcher. I can see them being useful as an on-hand needle guide in needlework classes, too. But the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw them: Gifts! I immediately thought of these making perfect door prizes for guild parties, or the perfect “little something” to give a stitching friend on a birthday or special occasion.

You can purchase the set of Needle ID Cards from any needlework shop that carries items from Access Commodities. If your local needlework shop doesn’t carry them, they should be able to order them for you – just ask! Online, try Needle in a Haystack (scroll to the end of the page, under storage and identification), and other purveyors of fine needlework supplies. If they don’t have them in stock yet, or haven’t heard of them, ask for them!

Needle ID Cards Give-Away

Update Saturday, July 7: The Give-Away is Now Closed. Thanks for participating!

Today, courtesy of Access Commodities, I’m going to go with the “gift” angle, and give four of you the opportunity to win your own little set of Needle ID Cards.

If you’d like to win a set for you (or to give to a stitching friend as the Perfect Little Stitch-Related Something), please read the following give-away guidelines:

What’s your favorite needle-related item among your needlework tools? (Do you have special container, magnet, needle holder, needlebook, piece of felt, etc…? Or if you don’t have a specific tool that’s related to needles, how about telling us what your favorite needles are – brand and type?)

3. Please make sure you leave an identifiable name with your comment, either in the “name” line, or in the comment box. If your name happens to be Charlie, for example, you might want to further identify yourself with your location (Charlie in Poughkeepsie) or something to that effect.

Leave your comment by Saturday, July 7th, by 5:00 am CST (Kansas, USA). I’ll draw for the four winners on Saturday and let you know who they are. Winners will need to contact me with their mailing address, so make sure you check back to see if you’re one of the winners.

Comment away! And remember: your odds of winning this give-away are much better than your odds of winning the lottery.

(816) Comments

My current favourite needle related thing is the needlecase I made in your online class ‘The Nesting Place’

I would love to win one of these sets as I was going through my needles yesterday and realised that I had no idea how to identify the size and type of most of them. Especially the ones I bought in multi size/type packs.

My favorite needle accessory is a DMC needle holder which is fan-shaped and a rich dark indigo color. It is cheap and it is plastic, but I still love how it keeps all my needles in my particular order.

My favourite needle buddy is a little tin about four inches square and two inches high. It has a little project on the go in it, with thread, needle and a small pair of scissors. It fits neatly into my bag and I can do a bit here and there. Many projects have travelled in this tin, many have been finished because they travelled on the go. Time waits for no-one. I make the most of the time I receive, life is a gift, I try to make the most of it.

I have morphed into a pin cushion collector. For my daily us I have an Altoids tin with a cross stitched top.

An ID card would come in handy as I just stick my not-in-use needles into a piece of felt and store them in said tin. So, every time I need a different needle it’s a guessing game as to what I actually have on hand.

What a nifty little idea these cards are! Thank you for sharing them in a give away. As for needle-related favorites, I appreciate my homemade needle case. It’s just a photo brag book. Each page contains a piece of felt tied to a card that is labeled with the needle brand, type, and size.

My favorite needle accessory is my needle book, the only problem is that I do tend to just shove needles in when I am done with them, so the needle identifiers would come in really handy and may even inspire me to separate them according to style and size!

G’day Mary,
I’m good, I’m good! The first word in this post is ‘Needlework’ and the last one is ‘comments’. See, I read it ALL!
And, my favourite needle tool is a needle book made from my first bead embroidery project. Something that was out of my comfort zone and that I was particularly pleased with.
Thanks for the blurb on the great cards and also thanks to Access Commodities.
Cheers, Kath from Oz.

My favorite needle related this is a needlecase created from a “silver” cigarette case. The case has been lined with magnets and holds all my needles and a laying tool. Very handy. I would love to receive one of the sets of cards as I have many unidentified needles. I really love stitching with petite needles. I didn’t think I would but I find them a great size for my small fingers.

These are really nifty cards! I love the idea. Specially because I have so many needles hanging out that I just have no idea what they are or what size so I can’t even put them back.

My favorite needle related item is my pin cushion that I made with crushed up walnut shells inside. Helps keep everything sharp and pretty. As for a specific needle I don’t have a favorite type or brand. Maybe as I do more hand stitching I may find a favorite.

I’m so excited! I have just recently added to my To Do list the project of sorting and labeling all my needles! This will be the perfect way for me to do it–and it SO simplifies the process!

I have lots of favorite tools related to stitching. I think I must have an acid chemistry, as I tend to blacken my needles after a lot of use. So one of my most favorite tools is a two-sided metal disk, the center of which holds a mixture of sand? sawdust? chemicals?–I don’t know what all is in there! It is encased in flannel. I draw my needles through it and then over the sides of the flannel, and voila! They are like new.

Thank you for letting us know about Access Commodites–what a wonderful suggestion!!

What a handy tool! I’ve been wanting to make a needle book for all my needles, and my procrastination may have paid off because I can now make a special place in the needle book I make for this useful “deck”. Thank you!

My favourite needle related thing is the needlecase I made myself a few months ago to replace the one I made in my first home ec class about 40 years ago. This one is much prettier, is bigger and has wool felt for the pages. And it was the inspiration to make an entire portable crazy quilting take-along tote with all kinds of matching bits and pieces.

I think these are a brilliant idea, I have lots of needles stuck in pin cushions which could do with identifying.
My favourite sewing related item are the tins I inherited from my mum. One is full of buttons, which I am now using, and the other has bit and pieces in, including a pin cushion I made her as a child

I’ve been attending several classes lately as well as our guild meetings. We don’t always have a lot of personal space for these events so I need compact tools. I have a small pincusion made out of wood and a felt ball. The wood was hand turned by one of our husband’s members and she made the felt balls for the pincusion part. It is lightweight, small, easy to tote around, and easy to use. And it is cute too!

The best thing I have for my needles, is an old red pincushion that has been with me for 48 years. I have been stitching since I was 12. My grandmother gave it to me! I’m new to your site and am looking forward to sewing, sewing and did I say sewing? LOL!!!

I recently bought a needlecase from etsy. I wanted a needlecase so badly, but i’m more handy with hand embroidery than i am with the sewing machine. I decided to by a hand made case from a fellow crafter, and i was delighted. My brigtly coloured case goes everywhere with me and i squirrel away my needles in it. I started with one page per type of needle. However they have now mixed themselves up. These cards would be perfect for identifying them!! Thanks for the opportunity to win them Mary

My favorite needle accessories are a beautiful felted pincushion (given to me by my husband’s German grandmother) and a leather needle case that her husband handmade for her. Oma’s family owned a fabric and needlework shop in Bad Hersfeld Germany for many years and I was so honored when she passed these treasures on to me. (they are over a hundred years old!) I think the idea of the needle ID cards is fantastic. I really do need help identifying the size and type of all my needles.

I like the larger eye needles, Tapestry needles I think. It always brings me to some of the lovely tapestries I have both in books and museums. I love the idea of including a bit of history of each needle. Excellent idea!

I am working on a tapestry now of my own design. It would be great to have this tool to help keep me organized.

I love the needle cards. I have so many unidentified needles and this would be perfect for sorting them out. I have made many needlebooks, but most are part of a set and are purely decorative. I need to make one that’s practical and has labels. Thanks for the give-away.

My favorite needle related item – is a needle case that was made for me. Our Guild had an exchange and I received the most beautiful needle case that I carry with me at all times.

I would love to win one of these wonderful reference guides for needles – as I am just learning all the different types of needles and what type of stitchery to use them with. As you see I am into Smocking, Brazilian, counted cross stitch, hardanger, pulled threads, blackwork, fine hand stitching and still learning more. – I could really use a great reference guide.

My favorite new needle holder looks like a business card holder and opens like a little book. It is lined with magnets on the inside. I arrange my needles by style and number in a row on each side of the holder. I would love to win these needle ID cards! So helpful!

My favorite needle work accessory is the arm of my chair. I do my stitching in the same chair most of the time and I use the padded arm of the chair to support my hoop, acting as an extra hand and as a pincushion – a fact I have to apologize to my husband for frequently.

I would love to win a set of the needle cards as I will also admit to not always putting my needles away and now I have a fairly large collection of unidentified needles. It is a genius idea!

My favorite needle related tool is an angel needle minder. I currently keep my needles in in a small box where the holders they are sold in fit perfectly. I have wondered for a long time how stitchers keep their needles identified, this set of needle ID cards is the perfect answer!

I have been working with embroidery for a few years now. I embroider, on hand sewen Teddy Bears that I make from sheeps wool blankets made in the 50’s & 60’s Just this pass winter I made a needle holder book from some ends of the blankets because I could never keep my needles together. These ID Cards would be great to help me know whats what.
Thanks for being the giving person you are.
God Bless.

Thanks for the opportunity to once again win another one of you wonderful “gifts”.

My favorite needle holder is a magnet little box that keeps the needles from running around within the little box. I tried many different types of holder but found that I actually have a needle when I need one since I started using this little magnet box. I surely could use the identifier cards since I just put all the needles within the little box to keep them safe and foundable.

They are so cute!! My favorite needle item is a needle book made by a guild that I bought a while back. It keeps my needles very organized. I just love the idea of cards to carry around so I can identify my needles (and I do have lots that seem to just hang around with no names to identify them).
Thank you Mary for this drawing. I just love your site! It has been so helpful to me in my embroidery.

I confess, I do not have a favorite needle related item – yet. The budget has been spent on getting better needles. The last time I was in a needlework shop, I had a list, and got an assortment of needles, including the curved ones. I was amazed at the improvement of stitches when I started working with the John James and Mary Arden chenille needles.

I’m happy and content with needles for now, and guard them carefully, counting and putting them back to make sure none go astray.

My favorite needle accessory is a needlebook that I made from a cross-stitch kit that has 6 felt “pages” for needle storage. It’s small and compact and easy to travel with. It doesn’t have an easy way to identify what the needles are so your kit sounds like a perfect addition!

Oh, to be able to tell my needles apart. I struggle with this all the time. What a great idea, and thanks for the opportunity.
My favorite stitching tool would have to be the tiny clay pot that says “snippets” on the front. It sits on the table beside my chair, and I use it all the time….for every project.

These cards are a fabulous idea! I use The Needle Index to store some of my needles, but the book is a bit bulky. If I’m trying to quickly identify a needle type and size I have to go through multiple pages to get to where I want. Though I’ll continue to use it for storage, the cards are a better tool for multiple needles on the go!

I have my mother’s little pin cushion. It holds such memories for me. Eight little Chinese dolls, each dressed in brilliant colors, each with outstretched hands encircling the bright tomato-red cushion.

Dating to the 1950’s, the colors have remained wonderfully bright and vivid and there is a reason: although she couldn’t sew on a button, she loved All Things Needle Arts. She had dozens of thimbles, crochet hooks, countless sets of knitting needles, ironing hams, darning balls in stone, wood, porcelain … and one pin cushion.

Once I was old enough to sew on a button, my mother would bring me the sweet pin cushion and a spool of thread … and I’d mend for her. I love that pin cushion.

I think these needle cards are a wonderful idea!
I tend to have lots of needles that I just put in a plastic vial when I’m done and am never sure exactly what size they are….I have to dump them out and play seek-and-ye-shall-find when I’m starting a new project.
I have discovered a favorite type of needle in the past few years – curved needles! They are just wonderful when finishing smalls such as needlebooks, ornaments, pincushions, etc.

Hi Mary,
I do not have a specific way of storing my needles. They all get pushed into a strawberry but this has led me to often wonder what needle I am using since the packaging is long gone! Not very organized I know, but I have never seen anything which I could help to organize my needles . I love this idea, especially the size of it. What a great addition this would make for my working stitching box.
Thanks for introducing it to us. Sandy

Oops! I left my previous comment before reading the entire instructions.

Previously I’ve loved a little blue book that contains similar information as this – types of needles, sizes, etc. with a piece of felt to put that type needle. But it’s a little bulky to keep with my stitching supplies. Other that that, I have a small tine my EGA chapter did for our anniversary year with various tools that match – a small pincushion, a scissors fob, a button waxer, and a few other pieces. I added scissors that match, a needle puller and it is my favorite item to keep where I’m stitching or to grab on the go when I’m taking stitching with me.

My favorite needle related related item is a needle book I made out of needle felted felt. it has a little pocket on the inside that holds a needle threader. I think these cards are a fantastic idea. I try to keep my needles in order, but they always get mixed up!

My very favorite needle related item is my extendable magnet wand. When I am stitching away, and my needle gains wings (for reasons of its own – maybe it knows a frog is coming?) the wonderful needle wand allows me to stay in my chair and pick it up! Or find it wherever it rolled. or search behind the chair cushion. Love this tool! I keep it sticking straight out from my light, and hang my thread of the moment on it.

The two most important items for me are a small neck help magnifying glass to help me thread the small eyes which my now not to great eye sight struggle with.
My magnate on on a long holder to find the needles that are hiding or that have fallen which I fail to see but often painfully find.
Oh for the eye sight of my youth !!!
Your needle set sounds wonderful.

Oh, you won’t believe this! My project for today is to go through all my loose needles and match them against the pictures in A-Z of Embroidery 2 so I can figure out which is which.

I would love to have these needle cards! Just think – I would be able to figure out what all those needles in variety packs are!

I don’t have a favorite needle or needle-related thing. But I love when I have a well-made needle that is just the right style and size for the job. Working with quality tools is always part of the pleasure of doing needle work.

My favorite needle tool is a toss up between a decorative magnet that I keep with my stitching and a magnetic wand that I can use to snatch my needle if I drop it. Both have saved me many a headache when the fingers get clumsy and the needle I’m using drops out of my hand. I love, love, love new needlework toys and would appreciate another stitchery tool.

I love this idea! I will be buyig some as gifts even if I do win. My favorite embroidery tidbit is split between the very decorative magnet I can park my needles on while stitching, and an embroidered needlebook I made with Elizabethan embroidery. I have numbered the pages so I can try to keep track of which needles I am using. The guide will be spectacular since I always ed up with the odd needle that I have forgotten the size of.

Since I do dressmaking I have made myself a wrist-needle cushion. There was this craze here in Denmark a couple of years ago for kids to wear these snap on bracelets with cartoon characters printed on. The nifty thing is that these bracelets could be straightened to a stiff ruler like thing and then when bent a little curled into a circle. I stole one from my nephew, once he was no longer interested in it. Covered the band with fabric. Made a needle cushion out of the same fabric, stuffed it with tow, and stitched it on. When it is on my wrist, it sits securely and when I want it on the table I straighten out the band it stays where i want it.
That is my favorite needle accessory
Tania

Right now I use a Tidy Tote to keep close at hand all the tools I need while stitching. I don’t think this particular brand is available anymore, but it is a pattern for a pincusion/ort bag/magnet strip combo that you make yourself. I’m on my second one, having worn out the first, and this time I added more magnets and use those to hold my needles. But they are not sorted by type or size and this handy little gadget would do that and looks compact enough to keep handy without being in the way.

What a nice offer, I do sometimes struggle to identify a needle and size. My favorite item is a carved box I keep my needles and some accessories in. I also keep an assortment of needle threaders and am always looking for new ones. Thanks again for all you share.

My favorite needle-related thing is the magnetic “M” needle minder that I bought a few years ago. I have it on my biggest current project and it always makes me happy to work on that project, so using the needle minder reminds me of happy times.

What a neat idea! I use a piece of felt for storing my needles – works great till I need a specific one – then I usually leave my “felted” ones and go get a new one that is still in the original container – that way I know the size! I’m a newbie to stitching and just love your site – you are so generous to share your tremendous talent! Thanks so much, Carolyn

Oh those needle cards will be very welcome here!
I’m still a novice with lots of different needles that I can hardly tell apart, so this is a very good idea:-)
I just made a small Portuguese embroidery and the faboulous Milliners needles (Whitecroft) made it a breeze to make all the bullion knots, so those needles are my favorite now:-)

My favorite needle related tool has to be my magnetic needle rest. I have no idea how I got along without one for so many years!

It attaches to my project with a strong magnate and looks like a pretty silver button. When the phone rings or I need to get up for some reason. I can simply stop what I am doing. Drop my needle on the rest and do what I need to do. No more securing the needle to the selvage edge of my project wearing little holes along it. No more sticking my needle in my shirt so I don’t lose it while pulling more thread off the skein or doing that “Darn, where did I set my needle” hunt. It is right there, looks pretty and keeps my needles in a set place.

I never had a needle book until I made myself one very recently. At the moment that is my favourite needle related thing. It has a little pocket on the inside cover and I think the needle id cards would fit perfectly. How neat would that be.

Hi Mary. My favourite needlework tool is a pair of scissors with a clip and stretchy cord attached. It helps me keep track of my scissors when I’m stitching. I have plans to make a needle book with a crazy quilt cover and I think a set of these needle identifiers would make a most welcome addition. Grovenore

“Well, here, I have two unidentified needles stuck in a piece of felt”

That’s exactly it! I never know what kind of needle I’m grabbing, as long as it works. Then if I need to buy a new pack, I’m not sure what to buy. These ID cards would be so handy for that! So I can’t tell you which needles are my favorites because I never really know what they are. But for hand sewing (patchwork) I love the quilting and applique needles I purchase from Jean S. Lyle in Illinois. Otherwise my favorite tool is probably the short, squatty screw driver I stole from my husband so that I could tighten my embroidery hoop.

I love John James Petite needles. I use 26 and 28 the most. I also love Bohin #26 and #28. I think the Bohin is a little nicer going through the fabric, but I love the petite needles, so I switch depending on what I am stitching.
I have lots of magnets that I like to use and I have a couple of needlebooks I made and I have a needlesafe that I use when I travel.
I love gadgets, it makes stitching even more fun. In my circle of stitching friends they have given me the name “gadget gal”. I am honored.
Love your Needle ID Cards, how very fun and useful it would be to have this.
Thank you for a chance to win this great prize. Just think, I could organize all those loose needles I have ….lots of them!!!
Judy in Kansasstarkey_judy@yahoo.com

My favorite tool for my needle sits on the arm of my stitching sofa. It’s an armchair caddy from the Smocking Arts Guild of America 1990 national convention in NJ. It has many needles poked into it, and I can usually find one to suit the project I’m working on at the time. I keep a pair of scissors and a nail file on one side and a ruler on the other, so I’m set for most projects. Of course, the armchair caddy doesn’t catch all my needles. The threaded ones often wind up in the arm of the chair itself! My hubby knows not to sit here, he’s been stuck by a random needle before!

I think it is an ingenious idea because oonce you take that needle out of the packet it is not always possible to remember exactly what it is. I did, after some hunting around, find the needle book which you did a blog on some time ago which is very good but not quite so neat as these small cards which you could carry around so easily for quick identification. I am also a tools addict so it would be a wonderful thing to have in my stitching box. Many thanks for always sharing all these amazing finds!

Mary – my favorite needle-related item is a pair of Bohin needles I have
waiting for the strawberry embroidery class! I just recently learned
about Bohin needles by reading your great blog. These little needle
cases would be a perfect storage place for these two needles and any
others I might add to the collection!
Thankyou for all of the information, inspiration, and opportunities!
Christie

I have a needlecase made from an ugly commercial potholder with the hanging loop in the middle of a side instead of at the corner. First I added 2 squares of real wool felt to the backside of the potholder. Stitched them through the middle so I had 4 “pages”. I sewed a shank button on the opposite side from the loop so I could fold the potholder in half enclosing the pages with my needles. Still hated the outside so covered it with a crazy quilt block. The final refinement, I printed the words, chenille, embroidery, quilting, and applique on muslin using the computer. I used a scalloping pinking scissors and cut out the muslin words. I attached them to the appropriate pages and sorted the needles in those categories. It’s soft, not to large, and big enough to also hold an embroidery scissors and thimble when closed up.

My current favorite is a needlecase that was a birthday gift from my mom. It’s just your basic needlecase, but its made with Newfoundland tartan fabric, and of course I’m from Newfoundland. She didn’t make it though, but it is handmade, bought at her local craft store.

My favorite needle case is a sterling silver case with Morning Glories on it. It will be perfect attached to my chatelaine. The needlecase I use most often is one I made 20 years ago. It is a Jacob’s Ladder that can be opened on either side. Very clever design!

I would love a set of these Needle ID cards because all my needlecases are full of “mystery needles” and I have to guess which is the correct one for my latest project.

My favorite needles are 20 – 24 tapestry needles as I am a canvas worker. My favorite tool are the super magnets about the size of a sequin. I have them on everything. They are especially on the inside lid of a gingher box. They really corral all those stray metal objects; needles, tekobari, charms, and scissors.

What a great idea, I have so many needles that are not organized and this would be the answer to the problem. My favourited needle keep is a cute magnetic chicken, he sits on my side table and is ideal when I drop the pins.

I have many tools I use, but my favourite set is not one I bought – but one that was made for me by my daughter – a needle book decorated with cats,a cat-shaped pin cushion ,and a scissors holder with a cat paw – I am obviously a cat person! the needle book pages have the names of all my cat companions from over the years embroidered on the pages. this prize would be a welcome addition to my needlework basket!
Elizabeth from Saskatoon

Oh wow Mary!!! What a brilliant idea these Needle I D cards are!!! My favourite needle related item is my treasured needle book. It was one of the first articles I embroidered free style. It has eight pages and each page has a piece of ribbon stitched to it with the name of the needle supposed to be stored there. I must admit, I have quite a few needles on a pincushion, waiting to be identified and being sent home to their page in the needle book. The Id Cards would be really helpful.

I do not currently have a favorite needle related item, but if I had a set of these cards, they would absolutely be my favorite. As a relative newcomer to the world of needle art, you have no idea how confusing needles are–when to use which and for what. It becomes even more confusing when you go into a local needlework shop (as I did) asking for chenille needles and are told they have never heard of them. I asked the sales girl if she had looked them up on the Internet (in case they went by another name) and she replied that she had tried, but had no luck finding anything. When I returned home without any needles, I looked them up on the Internet myself with no difficulty. Apparently, the sales clerk did not know how to spell chenille. I would absolutely love to have a set of these cards.

I love the needle cards! I have a container with about 15 unidentified needles.

My favorite needle-related tool is a Telescopic Magnetic Pick-Up Tool because I am always dropping pins and needles. This tool expands from 6 inches to 25 inches and the magnet is strong enough ferret out the needle on bare floor or rug. It will even discover my scissors when I drop them into a corner of the sofa!

Mary,
I have lots of favorite needlework tools, but right now my most favorite is a strawberry emery that I just completed (thanks to a kit from BirdBrain.com). It has a little loop at the top that allows me to let it dangle from my embroidery stand; can’t be more convenient than that! And I love that I made the tool myself!
-Sharon in France

They ARE cute! And useful too. My favorite sewing items that I’ve been in love with lately are a couple of things I’ve made from on-line tutorials. The Primitive Gatherings thread catcher is awesome–squishes down to nothing in my sewing bag. The thumb pin cushion from Ink Lingo is perfect while doing English Paper Piecing to “park” the little pin used to keep the paper in place. I also love Jeanna Kimball needles as they are long and easier for me to handle due to arthritis in my hands.
Karen in Breezy Point

What cute Cards Mary I have a book called The Needle Index for sharps,Blunts & Betweens its about 4inches by 5 1/2 inches. It has come in handy for me as the little cards it has all the sizes in it like most of the Needle Books but I find that even though of the size it’s not a thing I carry to class but the little Cards could travel with you even in your purse what a neat idea. Thanks for the opportunity to win these..Only Mary would find theses neat little Gadgets’
Have a great 4th of July everyone. We had a great Canada day. Its your turn now.

I’ve come to like a needle from Japan very much. The reason? It’s perfect for temari. Unlike the darning needles found in the US and Europe, the hole is large and unburred. This means my metallic or rayon thread doesn’t shred in it at all and it goes through the ball’s material wonderfully. For other kinds of needlework, I tend to favor the Bohin brand. They just feel better in my hand.

My favorite needle accessories are wooden tubes for storage and my strawberry emery. I have one that is my all time favorite that was carved in eastern Europe. These items have proved invaluable in keeping my needles at the ready. Your needle cards look to be the perfect items for sizing up those needles when they sometimes get mixed up. I’d love to win them!

I would love to win one of these lovely Needle ID Cards. My favourite needle related item is a heart shaped green and red poka-dot pin cushion which my Niece made me for Christmas. It sits beside me as I sew and when it is pressed a spray of Lavender potpourri hidden inside hits you mmmmmmmmmm heaven! there are lots of needles in the pin cushion that need identifying and put back in their rightful needle packets, so your giveaway would certainly help me.

My favourite needles are definitely Bohin, they are so smooth, thin and when you sew through the fabric they are like silk.

My favorite needle at present is probably a milliner’s needle. I didn’t realize how much difference they could make with respect to bullion knots. Boy was I pleasantly surprised. And bullion knots are so fine and dandy. Thank you so much Mary for all of your wonderful counsel and advice.

The tool I use all the time is a needle book I made from instructions I found in a magazine. The instructions called for a vintage linen napkin. I can’t believe I actually had one in my stash! So I made the needle book and I love it. I don’t have any idea what kind of needles I have stashed in it, however. So the needle cards would be wonderful to have. Thanks for the opportunity.

I have recently gotten hooked on embroidery, especially crewel, and am purchasing all sorts of things related to embroidery (I’m as much a collector as a stitcher!). I was thinking of making myself a cute little old-fashioned needle case (embroidered of course) to hold my needles but these cards are even better! I have different types of needles but not any of the really “good” ones yet. I did, however take your advice and order myself good hoops and even wrapped them with cotton twill tape. I’m learning so much from your daily posts as well as past posts. It seems whenever I Google something embroidery related a post of yours pops up and it’s usually just what I was looking for! So, thank you!!

I love the cute needle holders. So versatile in having the measurements right on the card.
I must say I do not know what type of needle I use but I like a med. thin, needle with a good size eye. I seem to use the same type of one over and over..right now, my needles are in a magnetized needle case that I have had since 1980’s. I also liked the little bit of history. Did not know Leonard Da Vinci invented the sewing machine from what little bit I could read. I would love to win these!!! Sherry

My favorite tool is actually one I made. I bought a pouch purse in Mexico that I liked because of the hand embroidery on it. It is woven wool. I realized I would never use it as a bag and it was too small to make a cushion, so I stitched it closed, folded it in half and made a needlebook out of it. I would love this give away because after I put all of my needles in the lovely book I made, I realized I no longer knew what each needle was! LOL. Alessandra in CT

Never seen this ID needle and I think it is a great idea. That save a lot of time!! Although I consider having a good sight, threading a needle at night is not an easy task. Here is the time when my favorite needle tool shows up: a magnifier. Actually it is one I inherited from my mother. Again, thank for this wonderful website.

I don’t really have a favorite needle or tool. I use whatever needle I have at hand, and have bunches of them stuck in pieces of felt. So I know that this little set of cards would help me identify all of them and put them in needlecases. I do want to make several needlecases, one for each type of needle, with space to organize them by size.

Hi – My favorite needle related item is a piece of felt about 3 x 5 inches on which I store my millinery needles and other misc needles I use often. I do a lot of Brazilian dimensional embroidery and I marked the felt with 1, 3,5, and 7 to mark where I store those size needles. Well, this doesn’t always work as I just stick them in when I’m in a hurry and then I have to look through them. Then I sometimes use crewel, tapestry, darners, etc. and place them on the other side of the felt. And before you know it I have a mess. But, that little piece of felt is my favorite because it is so convenient. No big bulky needlebooks. So, I would love to win the needle identification cards. I need them!

My favorite needlework accessory is Teegan, the cat which sits on my lap and keeps me company while I stitch away. I’m also rather fond of my special Ginger embroidery scissors with the very special scissor fob in the shape of a sheep.

I love needle minders! My very favourite one was made for me by my best friend. It is a brass owl. (He reminds me it is wise to put your needle in a safe place!) I have a few commercial minders, but I love handmade ones. I have a couple that were made from old costume jewelry. A solo rhinestone earring finds a beautiful new purpose when a magnet goes on the back. I have a metal bodied English desk lamp at my bedside and I park my minders on it. I like to use minders that somehow coordinate with my project. Right now, my owl is sitting in a needlpointed tree, waiting for me to finish the rest of my picture.

Hi Mary, my favorite needlework item is a little fabric container my Mum made me for my tools. It is just a small (4 x 6 ) bag with a flat bottom and two elastic pockets and has a place for needles and a pin cushion. It is amazing how much it holds and I take it everywhere with me. I get many compliments on it. I would love to win Needle ID cards as they would fit in perfectly. Thanks, Jeanette

The ONLY accessory to have for pins and needles is a magnet….several magnets! I try to never put down a needle or pin on anything but a magnet. My husband used to laugh at me as I’d be frantically searching for a needle that dropped….UNTIL HE sat on the sofa and found it the hard way. I thanked him for finding it, but it didn’t take the pain away! I have a magnetic box for needles, a magnet on any project in my stretcher bars, a jar with a magnet surrounding the opening in the lid (so if the jar tips over, the magnet keeps the pins in the jar). I stuck a magnetic strip to the side of my sewing machine to collect pins and needles! I always have a small magnet in my purse as well. Until this newsletter today, I didn’t realize how much I use magnets…as much as I use needles!!!!

And by the way, YOUR tidy system of storing needles is awesome. I’d not seen anything like this before! I do have a needlebook that had been put out by one of the EGA groups, but after use, the holes in the pages will wear out the book!

I love all kinds of gadgets, too — I always check those out first in a needlework store before I look at the rest of the things. If I had to name a ~favorite~ it would have to say the Star DeTailer, used to get threads to the front or back of the fabric and to weave in ends of threads. I always have one close at hand.

Cute needle cards! I am a sucker for needle books. I have the Needle Index, put out by the EGA’s Valley Quail chapter, and I’ve made several. My most recent is the Hari-Kuyo needle book taught by Susan Elliott of Plays With Needles as an ecourse. It is beautiful! Especially useful is that each of the colorfully dyed felt pages is labeled with a type of needle. Being associated with hair-kuyo, the book has a special felt piece for holding broken needles until the festival during which they are retired with honor. See it here: http://plays-with-needles.blogspot.com/2012/02/hari-kuyo-laying-our-needles-to-rest.html

My favorite needle accessory is a wool needle book I won as a door prize at a quilting event. It is made of deep purple wool and has a rust colored maple leaf embroidered on the front. It is a darling size and so useful that I can’t imagine why I did not use one before this. As I am always wondering what size and type of needle is in my needle book, your cards would be well appreciated. Thanks for the opportunity!

I do indeed have a special container for my needles. It’s a desk drawer. All of my needles get tossed into the drawer and I couldn’t tell you what’s what anymore. The only obvious ones are the tapestry needles because they have the blunt tip and large eyes. Boy…do I need help or what? I am making a needlebook which will help some but I am salivating over these cards. Wow, what a wonderful idea! ….
Brenda, Wilmington, Ohio

What a handy little item. I have needles everywhere — mostly because I love to collect vintage pin cushions, needlecases, and needlebooks. And then I like to make pin cushions and needlebooks. And then I like to buy every new needle organization system that I see. And then I have little felt pieces with the needles from every class I have taken. Someday I will organize them all and it would be great to win a set of cards to help. As for my favorite needle, if I could have only one (heaven forbid), I would choose a #8 Crewel.

What a wonderful tool for needle workers. As a young girl I watched my grandmother do her hand work, and followed in her footsteps in always having some type of hand work to do. Your site has enabled me to learn and purchase wonderful books. As I reach retirement, I’m find more time to brushup on my needle skills. My favorite tool or needle companion is one of my grandmothers pincushions, although worm and very well used, it’s a wonderful reminder of her.

Your needle cases are “cute”‘ and would make a delightful addition to any needle workers tools!

I collect vintage and antique needles and I have some really small ones made in England that remind me of Japanese needles. These little needles and the Japanese ones are my favorite. But I also have hundreds of unidentifiable needles that need help in finding a category to rest in. These little cards would be wonderful.

My favorite needle work “tool” isn’t even for needlework! It’s actually a “tool” for holding nails and is called a magnetic wrist band! My hubby bought one for me and I use it ALL the time for hand and machine work. It holds my pins and needles securely so I always know where they are! I just love this tool and it was under $3! Can’t beat that! They are sold at Harbor Freight and I’m sure other hardware stores. My hubby also bought me really small forceps at Harbor Freight too! I use these for pulling heavy threads through fabric and even my beading! Whenever hubby says he’s going to HF I always say “I’ll go with you!”…you never know what you’ll find for our craft! p.s. I have no affiliation with HF! 🙂

Hi, Mary,
Long time no write, but I read your e-mails daily–a great source of your inimitable knowledge of anything needlework related and a thoroughly enjoyable read every time.
These Needle ID Cards are irresistible. I have my mother’s pincushion and a little felt book I bought from a California guild a while back. However, I somehow end up misplacing my needles and forever afraid that one of my cats may end up playing with them!
I would love to win these cards. They are quite a find (one of the many things at which you are great), and they look to be quite practical as well as attractive.
Thank you for all you do and for this opportunity. I restrain from participating most of the time, but today I just could not resist your offer.
Blessings,
DorisHH

I love my felt piece labeled with needle sizes that holds on the top of my magnetic tool case. I alway have a set of each size needles. Of cource the rest of the needles live in a large pencil box in the original cases before being move up to the felt.

Love those milliners for needle turn applique. I’m learning so much now in the embroidery world with your wonderful help. Sometime Mary could you go over with us newbies about the care of handwork needles, keeping them sharp, when/if to discard them, storage, etc. Would be so thankful as our souls are fed with Mary, needle and thread!

I love your site, tips and much more. Thank you. My favorite needle-related item is my thimble with a magnet on the end. How is that needle related? I use it constantly to pick up dropped needles, to sew with of course, and to park my needle on in between working. I have stiffened fingers with arthritis and this thimble helps me with all the various needles I use. I have many other thimbles but this John James one with the magnet works great for me.

My favourite needlework item is a small Australian cross stitch needlecase with one felt page in it. It was made by my daughter some 20 years ago and it goes wherever I go. At last count I had 43 needles in – betweens, tapesty, chenille, beading, milliners and others too. I would like to win a set of needle identifying cards because it would be a very useful tool to have with my needlebook on days when I just can’t work out what size needle I am looking at. Thanks for the chance to enter the competition.

This is a great idea..and the markings on the bottom of the card are perfect..this is great to have in my embroidery box ( I have two..one I keep in the car with a project in case I get stuck somewhere, the other I keep on my coffee table with a project so if I am sitting watching a TV I can occupy my hands.) THANKS for sharing.
Patt

hi, my name is olga, my favourite needles are szie 28 piecemakers, but i do use other needles too. i would luv a chance to win the needle idcard, its a great thing to have in any stitchers stash. my favourite needle item i have is a violin case wich holds an antique scissor, thimble and a little packet of needles, all held inside a violin leather case thats about 5inches in length, something i bought recently and treasure very much. i enjoy your newsletters.
luv from olga. (uk)

The first year I joined by local embroiderers guild group in Glasgow Scotland, I purchased a needlecase at the annual sale. Its quite workaday, substantial, made of furnishing fabric with a litle embroidery and beads on the front, using a green flecked tweed for the pages.
I was using it for a class some time ago and a senior lady stopped by my table and picked it up. It turns out she had been the maker all those years before – she was as delighted to find it still in use as I am to own it!

My favorite needle related tools have to be the needles themselves. I love John James needles and most often grab a size 10 embroidery needle. The Needle ID cards would be perfect for me because I have a tendency to park needles I don’t use often in felt…and then it takes forever to figure out the size and type when I need to use one of them.

You won’t believe it but my favorite needlework tool is a thimble. It took a lot of effort but I learned to use one while working at a designer’s workroom. Now it is second nature. I also love good needles and have many stuck in papers, felt etc. I would LOVE to have the set of cards. Thank you.

I have a pin cushion with a lot of unidentified sewing and embroidery needles. The only ones I keep separate are the needles for my Brazilian Dem.Embroidery needles because there are so many different types for the so many different threads and those I keep in a flannel book identifing each page by thread type.
Most of my hand embroidery needles are Boyle or Dritz from Joann’s or Walmart.
I really do like the idea of those needle cards. Another must have tool.

My favorite needle-related item would be a thimble that my husband purchased for me because he overheard me muttering how beautiful it was. I really don’t think he’s done anything like that before. Oh wait, we weren’t married then. Just dating. So that explains everything. Anyways, it is one of my cherished items.

I want to tell you when I read your blog – which I just found a month or so ago – I felt like I’ve found a special friend. I rediscovered embroidery several years ago and I’m so happy I did. I taught myself when I was a young girl and couldn’t understand that my friends didn’t find the same enjoyment I had with a needle in hand and a box full of color. Thank you for sharing all you have.

My favorite needle-related item is a needle-threader. I use Appleton crewel threads and I need a needle threader constantly. I am always looking for new and different needle threaders and I have preferences as to the shape and usefulness of each one.

My favorite tool is my needle patch. It is a long rectangle made of two pieces of felt, a rich purple and a muted green, using a color combination I had often seen in nature. It is sewn together in a fine running stitch. This was a necessity so that I could see all my needles at a glance. I have many needles. Only afterward did I realize I didn’t know what kind each was. Needle cards would be a perfect addition to my sewing basket

Dear Mary,
How exciting!!
I can tell you as of right now my favorite needle related tool is going to be your amazing, convenient needle I.D. cards. This is my biggest problem when stitching! It is so hard to figure out (for me) what size needle is what! I can’t wait to own these cards so that I can take the guess work and time on spend trying to identify my needles and stitch instead. Thank you so much, once again!

Among all the various pincushions,needle safes and felt paged needle books that I have accumulated I find myself using the little blue magnets I bought many years ago. They stick to my old metal armed dazor and are always ready to hold the needle I am using.
My favorite brand is the Piecemakers needles because of their large easy thread eyes.

Hi Mary,
My favorite needle related stitching item is a needle case I made as a Guild canvas work project several years ago. I have managed to separate my needles into only 2 or 3 categories.The needle cards are a great idea and I’d love to win a set. Failing that I’ll have to buy a set!

I have one lone needle that I use for all my embroidery that I call affectionately “Old Reliable”. I have no clue what type of needle it is, I can’t even remember how I acquired it. All I know is if I ever lose that needle I’m done for.

What would I do without my favorite magnet needle minder that has a monogrammed “G” on it with a cute little harp playing fairy??? I am “alway” dropping my needles and sad to say…stepped on one that went into my foot…ouch…so I adore the fact that it keeps my needles in one spot and not in anyones foot…Love the needle pack and so happy that someone had the fore-thought to think of something so brilliant!

Hi Mary,
Right now my favorite is a needle case I made from wool. The inside pages are wool felt that I wrote on the size of each needle. But a nifty needle case with all the bells and whistles would be even better. The needles I enjoy using are John James and Richard Hemmings. They seem smooth and easy to handle.
Have a great 4th!

my favorite needle case are tow antiques cases one wooden and one glass that were birthday presents from a dear friend that will hold my gold english needles. also have a english paper case from the 1880’s with the needles still in it.

My favorite needle is the John James needle. I find them to have less ‘grit’ in the inside of the eye to cause damage to the thread. They last a very long time. Until last year, my favorites were petites. However, after a bout with carpal tunnel issues and arthritis, I find that the regular length feels better.

I have a bulky book put together by an EGA chapter for sorting out needles, but these handy little cards would make it a lot easier to do the sorting.

My favorite tool is my Hardwick Manor embroidery hoop. With the inner circle wrapped, I can make it tight as a drum.

I’ve tried to make myself a little cloth needle roll with the sizes marked. I spent hours online looking for pictures of needles that are life sized. These needle ID cards would be wonderful!! I could finally be sure of my needle sizes. What a fantastic giveaway.

I was just thinking yesterday that I wished I had something like this! But the other thing is that I just got a few months ago is a little flat box with a lid that had a magnet in it to keep the needles for when I am going somewhere!

I have a small collection of embrodiered felt needlecases made by my Mother and Grandmother, two of which are shaped as bonneted little girls and I adore them. Grandma’s is very faded which adds to its charm. On inheriting my Grandmother’s sewing box I found a felt square needlecase I had made her when I was a child which she’d used all those years! As for needles, having two talented needleworkers in the family I have never bought any for myself and I am now custodian of the family stock! Downside to this is I never know what is what and I am probably using all the wrong sizes but at least I know they are all good, well made needles and some must be nearly 100 years old.

Needle related favourite thing? Hmmm. I just made an embroidery/sewing kit that has a needlebook in it and am enjoying that, but don’t really have a favourite thing. These needle cards look quite useful. Good idea.

Oh Mary, My favorite “needle accessory”, BAR NONE ! is the needle threader.!!! I have gone past using the ones that are a wire loop, protruding from a little plastic disc. The wire invariably pulls out. I’ve found such a better one. Sorry I threw away the packaging, or I could tell you the manufacturer. Anyway, it is a simple “sliver” of thin thin thin metal shaped into a disc for holding….. but…. the disc has an “extension” of itself, like a little finger shaped into a hook which glides easily into the needle holes. “Voila”. No wires to pull out. I’d be lost without this new needle threader. Thanks for asking. Judy in Pittsburgh

My absolute favorite needle related tool is the Loran needle threader. I cannot thread a needle to save my life and don’t think I would be such an avid needleworker had this little gadget not been invented. I have one in all of my stitching tool kits. I make sure I keep extras on hand just in case one becomes misplaced. Have needle threader, will stitch!

I love buying good needlework tools. And I love them even more when it is something that I can make. My favorite needle related tool is a lovely needlebook that I made years and years ago from a kit that I bought from Kathleen Smith at Textile Reproductions. It is in my handsewing basket as I write.

These little cards are fabulous! It’s so hard to really narrow down to a specific needle related item. I love storage for needles. The children I teach love my dalmation pin cushion that barks. The adults love my colcha embroidered top pin cushion. But I think my very favorite needlecase is a long pyrographed case by Matthew Hester. the wood has a lovely finish and the design of an owl has a little crystal eye. Size and length are perfect for a general assortment, including some long needles that don’t fit in other cases: beading needle (for fixes), a darner, a straw needle, and milliners. There are some shorties in there, too. The hollow inside is quite wide for the width of the case so needles aren’t too crowded and it’s easy to select one.

Made a wonderful crazy patch needlebook recently from a class I took with Gloria McKinnon and have all my hand needles on the wool felted pages inside.
I like the feeling of having something beautiful and practical to use for my handwork! These cards look like they would be a great addition to help my mind keep all the diferent needles straight in my brain!
Avis in VA

My favorite item is my needlebook that has a place for needles, embroidery scissors and a pocket for a package of needle threaders. I take this with me whenever I go some place where I’ll be using a needle. Winning this prize would surely help me as I have lots of needles that I have trouble identifying.
Gita

Wow! What a wonderful product. As a relatively new stitcher I am finding I use numerous types and size needles then have no clue what size or kind they are. Even packaging is no help. I am lost when directions say what size needle to use. And one thing I have realized…being organized when stitching sure makes the process more enjoyable. Nothing worse wasting time searching for everything you need. So I am sure I will really like this product.
Donnaa

What a perfect tool! I’m always confused as to what needle is the best to use, and I’m notorious for just sticking them in the top flap of my thread case. If it has thread or ribbon left in it, I can tell what the needle is, but if not… If I don’t win, I will have to get my hands on these myself. I agree, they are “cute.” 🙂

My favorite needle holder is a felt one my grandmother made out of felt and ribbon. It looks like a Sunbonnet Sue (it’s a sentimental thing). I also have the ubiquitous tomato, but I lose needles in it and I never know what size a needle is.
I would love the organizers that tell me what the needle is and what it is for – always a problem for me!

Hi Mary!
I love those little cards! I happen to have a lot of unidentified needles, LOL!!
My favorite is a needlebook I made myself. I keep most of my needles there, except the ones I use when sewing on my little sewing machine. I need to make a new one soon, because now it’s a little crowded with both cross stitch needles AND crewel ones.
Thanks for your wonderful site, I come here every day!
With love,
Gwen Kok, Dordrecht, the Netherlands.

I`m a bit of a WIP with organization. My imediate project is organized ,but eveything else in in various boxes, drawers,project bags. But I still have the felt needlecase I made in my first year in 4-H as a ten year old in 1964. It`s still in great shape and contains some sewing needles. I must admit this little Needlecase is the Bee`s Knees.
Karole in Texas

I have a pencil box I got at the dollar store and I am able to keep all my hand work supplies in this. I have a Sun Bonnet Sue needle book I got as a gift that fits well This help prevent me from losing my needles, but I would like a way to keep them better organized! Thanks so much for your generous giveaways.

Thess are fabulous! I have a whole stash of single needles. I just made some felt “ring” pin cushions, and I stitch with one on my finger so I don’t have a needle in my mouth when I stitch. But my favorite needle elated item has to be the NP2 needlebook I made with Mary’s guidance. I just brought it on holiday with me and people always love it. It was my first needle related item I embroidered and will always hold a special place. (even though the needle guide is more useful in indentification). :). These are a great find!

Wow! I’ve been wondering if there might be something that could help me identify needle sizes and types and here it is.

My favorite needle related item is the tin box I keep them in. It’s an Altoids cinnamon gum container, about an inch wide and two inches long. The size is perfect for needles but I also like that it is ecological. There’s a mystery attached to it too — somehow the needles that are stored there become magnetized. Yep, no magnet in sight but the larger ones cling together when I remove them from the container.

My favorite needle related item is a small needlecase made for me by a friend. It is a small envelope made of line banding, stitched with floral motifs in cross stitch over 1 and over 2, satin stitch, queen stitch & back stitch. The envelope holds 3 round wooden needleholders, a needle threader, a laying tool, and a star detailer. The verse on the back is a favorite of mine: The Needle’s Work
Shall Be My Art, A Gift My Friend From the Heart.

My favorite tool is a small crochet hook. I am forever stitching until the tail is too short to knot or pass under stitches so i use the crochet hook to pull the short threat through to finish off.
Love the needle cards. They would fit perfectly into my needle book. Yesterday’s blog on blocking was very informative and I just bought push pins to try it.

What pracaticl cards!They would be so handy to have on my annual “Teach sewing and embroidery” trip to Peru with Threads of Hope Canada. My favorite companion for needles is a hand made needle book.Every student gets one with a basic assortment of needles on every trip. In Oct I will go to Swaziland with Threads of Hope. I have already completed 150 needle books one for each lady that comes to class. The cards would be immensly helpful to help the ladies use the best needle for their work.

One of my most favorite needle related tools is my leather thimble by Clover. It is not very impressive as tools go, but before I found it I hated thimbles. Now I gladly use it and it saves my fingertips. Bring on the needles, I’m ready! 😉

Hi, I use a needlebook made out of felt that I made myself, very useful tool to have as a gadget..I would be very pleased to win the needle cards..
Thanks for the giveaway, Linda Jeter Virginia Beach VA

Hi – My favorite needle related tool is my needle thread – without which I could not use my needle with certain threads. I have those little thin wire gems located in any place I might want to thread up. My needles are not very tidy at all – I must admit. They are in their little jackets in various places. I would love to win those needle cards.
Thanks – for the chance.
Jane from MA

What a handy set! Love them. Hard to choose a favorite tool, probably at the top is my needle case because I made it myself when I first became passionate about embroidery. It’s not fancy but the cover has one of my earliest attempts at free-form using satin stitch and french knots. It’s an old friend.
Thanks for the giveaway and all your stitchy tips 🙂

These needle cards look like the answer to my serious lack of organization, especially when it comes to my needles! I am frequently changing needles and setting them aside in a pincushion, forgetting what type and size needle I’ve worked with. I try to store them back with their relatives, but I’m never quite sure…
My very favorite needle tool is a product called Needle Grip-It’s. My hands have a great deal of discomfort trying to grip the needle when stitching, and these allow me to stitch more quickly, accurately and pretty much pain free. They come 70 to a package, so they last awhile.

For the first time ever I purchased a needle case that has a magnet on the outside meant to use for attaching your needle threader. I love it so much! I also stick my needle there while I am getting my next threads ready for stitching. I got it at my local Joanne’s store kind of on a whim and I am so glad that I did! As always Mary thank you for your time and efforts! I hope my name gets drawn!! Respectfully, Brigette in Livermore CA.

My favourite needle related item is the Needle Index book which you mentioned in one of your newsletters. I actually ordered 4 or 5. For each project I do I place all the necessary needles in one book until the project is finished. It is one of the most useful needlework items I have ever come across.

My favourite utensil for ANY sewing, embroidery, ANY project, is my magnet and a teeny dish of wax. The magnet is obvious, but the wax I have placed in said dish to temporarily store a needle in between uses when working on a project. I like these little cards much better, I must have them! It seems very organized, and I would be able to find any needle I needed very quickly.

My favorite needle related accessory is a pin cushion – I love these, especially if they are handmade and unique. Currently I am using a sweet little pillow, embellished with a design by Kathy Barrick, worked all over in cross-stitch using silks (Au Ver a Soie, of course). I stuffed it with wool, used a sweet vintage looking fabric for the back of the pillow, and it is trimmed with a beaded edging.

Of course, my problem is that it fills up with needles and then I have a difficult time identifying just what type needle I have in my hand.

Access Commodities comes up with the best tools and we all know they bring us the most fabulous linens, threads, and books.

Hi Mary, what a great idea. I have a needlebook with most of my embroidery needles in but, of course, it means that the sizing details are lost once the needles are out of their packets. With these cards it will be so easy to pick out the correct needle for the task at hand.
I also have a mirror box in which I keep my Japanese handmade needles safe. It is such a lovely thing (as well as being useful) and is one of my favourite needlework items.
Best wishes
Barbara, from the UK

I do not embroider a lot. I do however have a tip that I can’t do without. I use an empty crystal light container to store scisors needles thread hooks etc for each project. So no matter which project I pick up I know I have exactly what I need. Pick up the basket/bag and go! I love redwork and currently enjoy embroidering cotton dishtowels. Am looking forward to trying some of the ideas I have seen in your articles. I enjoy your website very much and find it informative and concise. Thank you!

My favorite needle item is an old cigar box with cigar holding inserts. I am an upholsterer along with an embroiderer, seamstress, sliver remover, etc. I use needles everyday and my cigar box keeps them safe from getting lost on the floor or where ever they keep disappearing to. I don’t know how many times I have purchased a new packages of needles just because I could not identify the need I needed. Your little cards would save me so much money. I would love to identify the hundreds of needles that I have. Did I mention that we are also antiques dealers and find lots of old misc needles that I just can’t bear to toss. I wonder if I have an addiction to all things sewing related–

Hi Mary,
I love these needle cards and would particularly like to win some because my favourite piece of equipment is in fact a lovely little bit of treen which is an antique wooden needle case hand painted with pretty tiny flowers. Of course every time I keep my needles inside it I can’t identify them!

I love my laying tool.It is so very handy. I have a needle case that was my Grandmothers and it is by far my favorite container. It does not however hold a lot of needles.
My favorite needle is the #9 sharp. I do stump work and needlepainting and find this needle works great.

My current favorite needle work accessory is is a needlecase that I hand beaded in a Celtic knot design. I had to restart the project 3 times in order to translate my flat pattern design to a seamless finish on the tubular needlecase, and it was worth the effort to do it correctly.

My favorite needles are Bohin and John James. I like my strawberry to sharpen my needles. I bought a book to put needles in but never used it. It turned out to be too big to carry with me. I travel a lot so I think this new needle holder would be really great.

What a great idea!! As someone who does all different kinds of needlework, I am constantly confusing my needles and which are which. If I am not lucky enough to win a set, I would love to buy a set. Gail

I have a needle book that is similar to what you are explaining, mine is old and about at the end of it’s life. I think someone at a college made them years ago. Mine is 2 pages on each type of needle, one describes the needles and their uses the other page has a piece of batting attached so you can put your needles there. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT but like I said it is about at the end of it’s life so a new one is in order 🙂 Thanks for the chance to win 🙂

I love my small cylinder-type needle holders that I acquired years and years ago when I learned to do counted cross stitch. I can write the needle number on the colorful little top. I also do a lot of hand embroidery and find needles inserted in a piece of wool or fabric that had not been returned to their proper place – so . . . the mystery begins. Those needle I.D. cards would be a great tool for me.

My favorite needle related item is a pincushion surrounded by little people holding hands. When I taught middle school Sewing, I would threaten to turn my students into one of the munchkins surrounding the pincushion. That comment usually made us all laugh and go on to a better place. It is bright pink and reminds me of laughter. Seldom did I not laugh at least once a day when teaching that grade level. I miss the students and the laughter. But one glance of that pin cushion takes me back to that place and time.

Hi Mary, As a second generation tool and gadget lover, this is very difficult to answer as I love them all. I love my Kai tiny embroidery scissors and I have had some gold needles that I just loved, but over all, I love my trolley needle as I can use it for so many things that I do: needlepoint, crewel, cross stitch, Hardangar and, even at the sewing machine to hold fabric steadily under the needle. This is almost like asking which is my favorite — well, not child — but relative!

What a great idea these little cards are! I’d love to have a set. My favorite needle related item is my little wooden needle case. It’s small enough to fit anywhere, but not so small to get lost in my tote.

My favorite needle accessory is a lovely needle book I made years ago in an EGA workshop. The needles are kept in pages of vintage wool felt from my mother’s stash inherited when my children were little. The pages are marked to the type of needle assigned to each page.

My favorite needle tool in my workbasket is the “old” tomato-shaped pin cushion that is divided with yellow yarn into eight sections. This was my mother’s pin cushion and I use it to separate my different needles for easy access, but it’s not such an easy identification tool. I would love to have a set of the needle ID cards that you have shown us. Thanks so much for sharing these with us and for your website.

I am intrigued with the Needle ID Cards. I would very much like to have a set. I have stitched for over 30 years – even had my own needlework shop. I have used the John James needles for all of those 30+ years.

This belongs in every needleworker’s stitching box. When I had my shop, I would have sold tons of these. Really hope they will be availablr.

These sound and look great. Definitely something I really need in my workbasket. I would love to win them but should I not be one of the lucky winners I will be forced to buy them or make my own. That would be a fun thing as well.

My special needle keeper is an elastic band. I have amassed, and almost embarrassed to admit, packs of every hand and machine needle I could ever think to use. They are all easy to identify because they are still in their original paper and plastic boxes. Now I did not buy all of these but they have been given to me because I do hand needlework and others think I could use them. Do I throw any away, no, I might need one of them.

My only needle accessory is the container the needles came in or a piece of cloth. I am planning to one day make a needle holder along the lines of the one that was made in the class. I wanted to do the class but was unable to at the time it was offered. This give away would go a long way to helping me with my embroydery! Thank you for the opportunity.

My favorite needle accessory isn’t much – a felt wool heart shaped pincushion I made from a cloak that shrank in the wash (wait, wool can shrink in the wash?! Who knew?! *sigh* I got better…) But the cushion is big enough that I can segregate my pins to the top half, sharp needles to one side and blunt to the other. Of course, this means those identification cards would be awefully handy, since I pick up needles from every which place 😀

I actually have two favority needle accessory items…my magnetic needle case where I can store my needles and keep them ready for traveling and my magnetic needle holder that attaches to my work that is in progress.

I love those little cards! They are way cute!! Sure would love to win some! And even if I don’t, will ask for them at my LNS!

As I don’t have anything needle-related for storage (just biscornus and my lily of the valley needle holder), my favourite needle is John James Petites! I just love them! They let me get the most out of my threads!

This sounds silly but my favorite tools are the needles themselves. I am constantly figuring out which one is the best weight, length and thickness for whatever odd project or fabric I am working on~I am very nontraditional in terms of using the right needles with the right fabrics for some things (not everything) because I just get picky and have my favorite needles that I like to use. Once I lost my favorite perfect needle and my husband drove back to the place where I had been using it, magnet in hand and found it and I nearly cried I was so happy but if you stitch you understand there is nothing like the perfect needle to hold and sew with.

I have two magnetic art bin containers that hold my needles ( on felt pieces) scissors and bobbins of thread. One is on my work table and the other is in my sewing basket that goes to all of my classes. My favorite needles are from Wendy Schoen especially her needles for buillions.

I really could use this as I have no organization for my needles and never know what’s what and if I am going to do something special, I go buy a new pack of needles to get the correct one. So along with my disorganization, my magnetic pin cushions are my favorite and most used accessory. I throw all pins and needles on them and then hunt through them later if I need something. Help!

I’m a sucker for needle books. Now, they’re cute! Some I’ve made myself, some have been gifts. I have them all over the house so there’s always one handy. The little needle cards ARE cute, but I’d probably have to make a needle book with a pocket for the cards to live in.

Those cards are so simple and clever! Why don’t I ever come up with something like that?!?

My favorite needle-related item is an old needle case. It’s just a little wooden cylinder with a wooden lid that pulls off. What makes it especially dear to me is that it was my mother’s, and possibly my grandmother’s. It has that beautiful patina that shows it was used often.

My favourite needlecase is one made by my mother when she was a child in the 1920’s. It is a little white house with some embroidery stitches on it. As she was the one who introduced me to embroidery, I think of her every time I use it.

This giveaway is so ironic! Just yesterday I was trying to explain the differences in needles to a friend who is making a tablecloth and napkin set for her granddaughter. I’m afraid I didn’t do a very good job. Having this set would help me be a better teacher next time.

My favorite needle-related item is a needle book I made a few months ago. The cover is done in blackwork and the pages inside the book are made of felt. I use it every day. It had my initials on it and a place for the date. I have also made these for gifts and they are much appreciated!

Hi Mary,
I am so enjoying your blog and learning so much.(At my age that’s a plus). The needle ID cards are one of those things you look at, say, ” want” and “why haven’t I thought of that”. It is really a clever way to sort and ID needles. If I had these I could spend days going through my Stash. try to always buy John james needles but am looking at some you mentioned. I am very pleased with the hoops I bought on you advice. Thanks for a fun blog!!

My favorite needle-related item would be one of those fridge-magnets: it is a gift from a friend and has a sturdy ceramic disk on one side, painted with a happy little sun on a blue background. It makes me smile and also comes in handy in keeping the needles on a given project in one place without having to stick them into my armchair – which can be pretty dangerous, as I know by experience 😉
These needle ID cards would be perfect for me, as I basically know nothing about needles, I just usually pick one from my stash that seems to work for the project – which it usually does. But I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to have an idea of the type and size of my needles!

My needle place is a folder that I made a while back. I love the idea of being able to identify the needle size and what it is used for. I also like John James needles. They are strong and last a long time.

My favorite item in my needlework treasures is a needle book that I made. I decided my daughters needed the experience of making their own needle case so I made one at the same time. The cover is out of leather (from a worn out coat- I’m using pieces of it for a lot of things) and the pages are just crappy felt, but I embroidered freeform designs on the leather and it just makes me happy to look at. 🙂

My favorite needle related tool is a little magnet that sits on my embroidery. It’s oval, blue, and has a white cat on it. I use the top side to rest my working needle when I stop embroidering. On the bottom side, I keep my curved needle so it’s always there whenever I have to start or stop a thread.

In high school, a friend of mine made me a small straw sewing basket with a lid. Inside the lid, she fashioned a felt piece that holds the needles. This little basket is almost 30 years old, but it’s still in good shape (a testament to her craftmanship).

I have so many unidentified needles that would be nice to know the kind and size. My favorite place for the needles I am currently using is a needle book a friend made for me that has my name on the cover. These are the only ones I really know the kind and size. This Needle ID would be wonderful.
rico on the first coast

Mary,
I think these cards are really cute & practical. I’m always putting needles in my needle case & then later wondering what they are! My favorite tool right now is tiny thread puller for Hardanger embroidery that you use after you have cut threads…very handy. Thanks for the giveaway! Sheila from CA

Dear Mary,
These ID needle cards are a terrific idea- so useful and compact. I currently have a piece of felt that contains all my “unknown and probably never to be identified again” needles. I just received a most incredible birthday gift from my dear friend- a fabulous hand-stitched needlebook. It is a real treasure, and it is my most valued needlework accessory. It is really too pretty to use, but once I get up the nerve, I will insert my first needles into its pages.
Thank you for this opportunity- I so enjoy your blog!
Peg in NJ

well Mary i think it was a great idea to give out these cards.for past many months i was trying to find something to help keep and know my
needles.these needle cards are just perfect.so many times my favorite sharp needles have been mixed my mom’s needles and this give away I feel is the best

I have a pink polka dot magnetizied needle safe about the size of a business card and I love it. The only thing is that the needles are all mixed up and I would love to have someone way to identify them properly. I also keep an embroidery scissor,a needle threader and a tweezer inside it as well. It is very handy and always goes into my embroidery bag.

I have discovered that the 1/2″ round, extra strength magnets used for purse closers are ideal to use as needle minders. Now they’re not as pretty as your little froggie one, but they are strong enough to not only mind my needles, but also to mind my embroidery scissors on the top with perfect confidence. I just put one on top and underneath the fabric and I’m good to go. Even if I accidentally tug on the thread in the needles below they don’t come off the magnet. It’s my latest favorite needle thing.

I have a small felt needlebook that was one of the first items that I made when learning stitching. I use it all the time and it is my favorite piece of neede-related items in my stash. It reminds me that I am capable of creating beautiful things when something doesn’t go as planned – and it is just the right size for conveniently having it with me wherever I am stitching. I would love a set of the needle I.D. cards because as I have most of my needles in this small needle book – I no longer remember what they are!! 🙂

I really like the small square flat magnets that are super strong but I guess my favorite magnet is my cat on a blue background. I think these cards are an absolute must for my stitching basket. Hope I’m lucky enough to win one. Thank you for the opportunity!

Heck yes Mary, I’d love one of these Needle ID Cards! My fave needle-related tool would absolutely be my handmade needle book (pattern courtesy of Sarah Bradberry). I keep most of my embroidery needles in it and it’s alot more convenient than a pincushion to take along with me outside the house. Thanks for the chance to win! Happy 4th!

My favorite needle accessory is the bright blue Turkish tapestry pouch in which I keep as many needle packages that can fit. Sometimes I just take the packages out to look at them. I love needles! Thank you for making the needle cards and for all your great posts.

Favorite needle related item: My ort bowl with pin/needle cushion made by Mike and Maggie at Sylvan Treasures. How convenient to just lift out the pin cushion and have a container for my orts. Great for when you are stitching away from home.

Most of my needles end up in a pincushion. I have a piece of paper I had printed from some website that had actual size pictures of the needles that I compare the size of needles to but it is rather tattered from folding and unfolding to fit in my sewing box. These needle ID cards is a wonderful idea.

My favorite needle tool is the storage tubes from Tristan Brooks. I got my first set from Kathy Neal 15 years ago and have bought more since then. I can put a different size needle in each one and label it. The top has a hole so they can be put on a ring. Kathy called them needle spiders. They make it so easy to find the needle you want and some of my needles come wrapped in a small piece of tissue in a needle folder. I think these needle cards are a wonderful tool. Small, compact and easy to use plus they are pretty. Diane

What a great idea! I love the Needle I.D. cards. I have a “gaggle” of needles nesting together in one pincushion and they refuse to tell me their sizes. Of course, I won’t share my size with them, either!

My favorite needle item is a needlecase made from Mary Engelbreit fabrics. It is so cheery.

I just love my caddy that I made/stitched in a class at our guild! It hangs over the arm of my chair and provides me with a pin cushion, (to store the needles I need for the piece that I am working on) , three pockets; one to hold my needle case (filled with assorted needles, one to hold scissors
and one for “this or that”

I would love to be lucky enough to win the needle I.D. cards. My mixture of unidentified needles in my needle case need some organizing!!
Better than winning the lottery!!

My favourite needle-related tool is a box for needles shaped like a fan with the compartments running the same as the sections of a fan. I use my label maker to identify the type and size. Of course, I have several boxes but you can keep all the same type in one fan and take that one box when you go somewhere with a piece of needlework. I even have one for sewing machine needles.

My current favorite needle related item is the really strong magnets that i stole off of the refrigerator. When I’ve got 10 needles or so going at the same time, they really help to keep them under control. I’m on the hunt for some larger ones, but for now these are great.

My favorite needle related tool is needle minder. I have little feets running around the house so I always make sure that I know how many needles I am using and at end of day, to make sure the same number of needles are on the magnetic needle holder. My favorite size is 26 needles. I am learning to use other sizes for different purposes. I would love to win the needle cards as it is confusing to know what size I am using just by looking at it.

My favorite needlework tool is a tiny pincushion I received as an exchange gift a long time ago. It is only about 3/4 of an inch across but it is so handy for quickly grabbing a pin when counting or to change needles.

I am new to embroidery(6 mos.), so I haven’t yet made a case for my needles. I am using a pin cushion at the moment and have only 2 needles. I have finished a couple of little projects and am about to start on a larger project. I will be making pillowcases for our grandsons and will be embroidering thier initials and a Indiana Jones, Cars, and Winnie the Pooh motifs on them. I am hand making all of them 🙂

So, I would love to win a set of these needles to help me achieve the perfect look I’m going for.

My favorite “needlekeeper” is an old Altoids box with felt pieces cut to size. I have the felt labeled for different needle sizes to avoid confusion.
The box fits nicely in an outside pocket of my sewing bag that I keep near my favorite chair so it is handy while smocking and watching tv in the evenings. I use crewel and darners for most of my smocking and silk ribbon designs. I would love to win your cards to get my stray needles in check!

I LOVE magnetic needleminders! I have several attached to my (too many) works-in-progress, others waiting to be used and still others “decorating” my office/studio. They are everywhere in my life!
Some arrived as gifts from my stitching friends and my mother. Others were favors from the various seminars I’ve attended. A few, very precious ones, have been handcrafted. All of them hold a memory, a shared experience, or a cherished moment as well as needles!
Thanks, as always, for your generosity and amazing spirit, Mary! Blessings, Connie :0)

My favorite needlework-embroidery tool? My grandfather’s awl (used as a laying tool), my BLT (best laying tool, not the sandwich), or maybe magnets. I think I like magnets best. They are not cute or pretty but they do come in handy.

I have several of the self-stick kind on my floor embroidery frame where I can park a needle for a minute or 2, where I can park my BLT, and keep my small scissors close by. I can find and pick up the needle or pin that disappeared.

Magnets are stuck to my quilting frame as well for the same reasons. And since I thread multiple needles at one time, they can be safely parked.

Hi Mary, I think these cards with the needle sizes are the greatest invention that has come out in a long time. I would love to have a set to identify my needles. My Dovo scissors are my greatest embroidery tool. And needles I use are Bohin almost exclusively. No other needle compares.

Oh wow–what a need item!
My favorite needle related item is a small pincushion that my husband’s great, great Aunt made for me. She lived to be 104! She stitched for MANY years. The pincushion is in the shape of a heart and it is greatly treasured.
If I am not lucky enough to be picked I will be looking to order one of these as I tend to put used needles into a case and don’t remember what size the are! LOL
Thanks for the offer!

I think these cards are such a great idea! I’d love a chance to win a set. My favorite needle related tool is a small tin box with a magnet in it, where I can park the needle while finishing a thread or cutting more.

My favorite needle related tool is undoubtedly my magnetic pin keeper. I’m the world’s worst at losing track of needles and finding them later by sitting on them or stepping on them. The magnet keeper has saved me from many “sticky” situations.

Your needle cards are a great idea and look like a very handy tool to have.

My favorite needle-related item is a wool pincushion I bought on a trip to North Carolina, it’s colorful and big needles never seem to rust, although they do seem to disappear.

I also have a business card holder that I use to store packets of needles. It’s the one place where like-needles stay together (until I use one).

I have several needle books that I have made and always with the intention of keeping like needles together but somewhere that just never seems to happen and end of with pages of various kinds of needles all mish-mashed together. My favorite hand-made needles case has an applique of an original hardanger design which I quite love.

I’m a beginner, already addicted. I finished one crewel, and about 3 cross stitch, with 4 current projects and a score of projects I plan o do.
I use a plastic sponge for a pin cushion, choosing needles more or less indiscriminately based on its point & project. I want to learn everything embroidery. Soon, I’ll need to learn how to control my new addiction, but I’m having too much fun to worry about it now.

I love Bohin needles. I love them so much that I use them even though they don’t come in a “petite” size like the John James. I loved the shorter needles, but the quality of the Bohin needles is just superior, and they are my go-to needle.

My favorite needle accessory is the old fashioned threader many call a “Myrtle.” The darn things bend, but don’t think I’ve ever had one break. I don’t think I have ever purchased a “replacement” once I had enough to stash in every kit, equipment box, and project bag and to attach to every pair of scissors!

My favorite needlework tool is a long plastic device used to hold multiple colors of floss for a particular project. It has a place to store the floss and also the threaded needle. It really comes in handy when you have a project with a lot of colors! The little tiny magnets that hold your needle on your project are a favorite also. This prize would be SO helpful for me! I have bunches of unidentified needles!

My favorite needle related item is the homemade needle holder that I purchased at a quilting show. The helps me from misplacing or losing my needles when I am not using them….The needle cards are the niftiest thing to see…

I am very addicted to all types of needlework! This causes chaos in my studio as I can never locate the right needle quickly. Just recently I purchased a pin cushion from Fryes Measure Mill in New Hampshire. They make beautiful wooden items using old fashion tools. The pin cushion I purchased has a stuffed top that is divided into 8 segments. With a permanent marker I wrote a number for each size needle on a segment of the pin cushion. This helped me quite a bit, however I am still trying to identify needles. I think that whoever came up with these cards is brilliant! I wish I had thought of it. I guess I would have to say that my favorite needles are Clover Gold Eyes. I also use John James milliners quite a bit. I hope I win a set of these wonderful cards!

I love this give away because I love needles. I do a lot of needle work so I have a lot of different types of needles. I have a small needle book for each type of needle work that I do. I take my needle work with me where ever I go that I may be sitting for five or more minutes. My needle books are my most important needle related item for my needlework projects. I have lost a needle book before, and I just prayed that the finder of that needle book would love it as much as I did!

Wow! What timing you have with your posts! I am currently in the midst of moving my studio in a slightly larger space in the apartment — doing it right by really organizing everything. So this tool gives me a wonderful way to deal with the tin filled with unidentified needles (some mine, many inherited from both Grandmothers needlework boxes). Beyond the practicality, I love the idea of the small bits of Needle History! Just the type of tid-bit I like to share with my students when teaching!

My favorite needle-related item is a hand-crafted turtle pincushion — the head and body are a beautiful dark walnut wood and the shell/cushion is covered with embroidered tapestry. I don’t do “cute,” but he has always added a jaunty air to my studio while I work. He’s the first pincushion I owned (after my beginner’s traditional tomato) and the one I keep close and use — any others are mere decoration.

What a brilliant idea!I’ve been looking for something like this for ages. I’m not very good at keeping my needles in order, so never know after I’ve finished a project and put the needle away, what I originally used it for.

These are cute and neat – and would like to see how handy they are 🙂
My favorite needles are Bohin #28, but have started to like the ball point beading needles for stitching on 40ct linen.
Thanks for all the chances you give us to win such great items!
Charlene♥SC

I really like a short needle so right now my favorite tapestry needle is mary Arden of England’s tapestry petite which I can obtain at my local stitching shop. I do my beadwork with John James sharps # 12, also a short needle. I would like to find other types of needles (embroidery for example in this length — a long needle just seems clumsy for me. I do love the idea of these wonderful cards, as sometimes my needles get rather mixed up, especially the ones I don’t use frequently.

I have a tiny ceramic needle case that is hinged and looks something like a long pill box. My mother bought it for me at a needlework shop in Paris when I was visiting her there. She is gone now, but the case always brings back wonderful memories of her and our time together.

This little set of cards looks fantastic! You always share the coolest stuff!

OMG!! what a great idea! My current fav. needle “tool” is the hand felted giant pin cushion that a friend made for me…however, it does have its drawbacks! Currently when I want a needle I have to look thru everything in it and find the most likely looking suspect. sometimes thats fine- if I’m in the middle of a large project and therefore its likely to be in the side closest to my chair- then fine. I’ve been trying to organize my sewing/creative space lately -just made another run at it yesterday…getting really close- but one of these would go a long way to getting this important tool in a place I can put my hands on it right away when I’m looking for it and organized to boot!

Mary, these are so beautiful, and portable and wantable. My favourite is my coil ringed needle book called ” The Needle Index “, it i produced by the 1996 Valley Quail Chaptter, EGA, Walnut Creek, CA…it was a gift from a friend who seems to find the greatest little gadgets as gifts. There are about twenty pages with a wool needle piece on one size, and full picture and size of needle as well as what it is used for on the left hand side. It is invaluable and I just leaf through it and replace needles as they are needed. Itis a bit bulky but is never far from my hands. Yours is more portable, and easier to carry and, of course, has a great advertising spot on the front.

What a very nifty item, and would love to win this. this would be something I would use, and I love the idea of being able to identify a needle.
my favorite needles are bohn, and after reading your article about english needles being outsourced now, I went thru my stash of needles and found my needles from the ’60s are real english needles-so I love that.
I was given a neat little sewing basket with an upper part with compartments from a quilting friend-so I love using this piece for my needles-they are all in one spot too-so can easily locate what I need. I do have several needles stuck into pin cushions that I would love to identify. thanks Mary for the chance to win Kathy

What fun cards! I just discovered a film can with the bottom covered in a variety of needles. These cards would be really handy in sorting these needles out! It certainly would make things easier.Nice to have needles all in the same place, but this card packet would help greatly.

I don’t have many needle-related accessories yet, but I use a little scrap rectangle of wool felt that fits in my floss box to carry needles. These ID cards would be a dream since once they are on that felt square I often forget what they are! Plus, knowing me, if I won these cards, it would become a new obsession to get at least one of every needle represented- what fun!

What a terrific idea! Over the years I have used many different needle holders – wood and plastic tubes, original packages, felt and paper. But my memory is not as good as it once was – who can remember what needle that paper holds? Great way to organize and make sure I’m using the right needle for my project….Judy from Buffalo

These are the neatest little cards. I’ve written about my needle books before. I made them myself and I have seperate pages out of doctor’s flannel for each type of needle. I embroidered the name of the type at the top of each page. The covers are made out of wool felt which I embroidered. I have two. One for “Real” English needles, the other one for the inferior ones you find these days. I have yet to try the French ones highly spoken of. Thank you for the chance.

Currently, I am using tin or silver cigarette cases that I’ve placed flat magnets in. (cheap ones off the internet or finds in antique/junk stores). I was supposed to label which needles I put in which case, thought I would remember (not!) and then found out they switched sides in the middle of the night. Maybe they are visiting their friends.
My favorite needles are Bohin. I love these guys! Smooth, acid-resistant,the eye almost never cuts or shreds the threads like some do, they feel good in the hand. I bought them in bulk and I have 3 cigarette cases filled with them but can’t remember their sizes.
(I also put that sticky gel in one side of a cigarette case for beads and a narrow strip of magnet on the other side of the case for beading needles and the threader. I just close the case and the beads are there til I pick them up again!)

Some of my favorite needle work tools are some needle containers I purchased many, many yeas ago. They are compact and hold lots and lots of needles! As I made the mistake of not labeling some of the needles, this new tool would be a great thing to have!!

I thought these were so fabulous, I tried to buy them. But to no avail. It would seem they’re so new that retail suppliers have not yet picked up on them. Pity! That leaves me with your give away as the only means of obtaining said Needle I.D. Cards. Maybe a Google Alert? Until then, my unidentified needles must remain just that, unidentified and safely stored in their felt needlebook.

Thanks, Mary, for helping to keep me on the pulse of new and/or wonderful products.

I keep my needles in 3-ring binders with photo album pages, and love it! Each picture-pocket holds different size needle packs. They are easy to flip through, easy to organize into sections (crewel, chenille, etc), and the notebooks stay handy on my shelf. One less jumble-in-a-box. These Needle ID Cards look perfect! Thanks for finding them and reporting on them.

At Last! I have tried making my own needle reference book. I have used pieces of flannel to hold the needles. I have pictures along with a description of the needle but have had no way to identifiy the #. This is excellent, brilliant and cute! Thank you for making me aware of this wonderful product. I have made various needle books for myself and others and these are just the thing to slip into a pocket in the needle book and to give as gifts.

Thank you for your fantastic blog. I have added the needle ID cards to my shopping list. My favorite needle notion is a “Need’l Bird” from a pattern by Need’l Love. My needles are stored under the Need’l Birds wing.

Needlecases can be so cute and functional. They are much better than a piece of felt. These cards could be slipped inside a case. Perfect. I keep buying more neddles, because I’m not organized enough to know what I own. I could blame it on living a long way from a store, but then I’ll just say that I’m not organized! Louise in Iowa

My favorite needle related tool is a small acorn shaped needle case. My father in law, a master wood turner, made it for me and another friend hand carved the screw on top to look like an acorn cap. The body of the acorn is hollow and holds my needles. It is made of a rich,brown walnut wood and feels good to the touch. It matches the wooden awls my husband made for me. 😎

I love this idea. I wondered why we couldn’t find something with the picture sizes of needles. My favorite piece of embroidery equipment is my needle puller. I have arthritis in my fingers and these help so much. I’m Eileene aka Noiseynana from Arkansas

These needle cards are a genious idea. I never know what needle I would use. I have no favorite needlework, but I love my emery strawberry. It is full of pins!
Thanks Mary for your posts. I learn something every day.

My niece made me a felt needlebook that looks like a hedgehog for Christmas this last year! It is adorable and I love the fact that she made it by hand- I’m known for making all my gifts but I tend to be the only crafty one my family.

My favorite needle container is the magnet flip top case for loose needles. I also use the OMNI zippered pouch case in which I keep needles in their original packing. Sometimes, I will leave the needle in the sampler that am stitching. Thanks for sponsoring the give-a-way.

Many years ago before I ever learned to sew, a dear lady made me a pin cushion that looks like an old-fashioned ladies’ hat. She was somewhat of a mentor to me and now, so many years later, I still have that pin cushion by my sewing machine and am reminded of her and her love & kindness towards me.

It’s a needle roll I made out of scrap fabric with a scissor print. I organize my crewel needles by size from #1 to #10. The roll fits in a tin where I keep my embroidery scissors, #12 crochet hook & needle threader.

I am just starting crazy quilting and did not know there were so many special types of needles. I have only used what I thought were embroidery needle in the past. This great little pack would sure help me start to identify all the needles I have lying around. Also would help my learn new ways to use them. Besides the best for me would be the history. Thanks.

What a great idea! My needles are in such a mess! I don’t really have a favorite needle-related item. At this point, some needles are in a dedicated drawer in one of my floss bins, some are sticking in the pincushion on top of the jelly jar and others are stuck on magnets on works-in-progress. My favorite needlework item is the circular LoRan stitch converter to figure out for me how much fabric I need for a particular project.

This is a BRILLIANT product! Absolutely a must-have for all stitchers!

My favorite (and most used) tool would be my iPhone. Why you ask? Because I have my MOM (a master stitcher) on speed-dial so I can call her when I forget how to do something, don’t know what materials I need, or am in need of any stitching advice! 🙂

I don’t need to be in the drawing, I just wanted to comment because I am so proud of my mom for being one of the masterminds behind developing this product. Way to go!

My favorite needle holder is a pincushion that I got from a friend from a swap we had online. It is beautiful and I think of her every time I use it!! This is a wonderful giveaway I have many,many needles that have no name or size, poor little things!! What a great job you do here…I love your blog and thanks for sharing your knowledge with us all.

My favourite needle tool is a 1 7/8 inch needle with a ball on the end of it that I got in Italy. These are hand-made and absolutely perfect for withdrawing threads when hemstitching and I also use it for burying thread ends into hems.
You can see them here:http://www.tombolodisegni.it/
(Look under: Negozio, Aghi, Aghi con la punta a pallina)
Thanks for the contest Mary, these look really great!
Ciao!

I am new at hand embroidery so these would be great to help me reconize the different sizes and types of needles. I think the tool I depend on most is the needle threader, seems I always need help with threading, even the needles with the larger eyes.

The person that designed the needle books certainly had a stitcher in mind. I know I would benefit from the information they contain as I have a lot of needles in one of my favorite little cases which I do not know the best use of them. I am going to tell my stitching and quilting friends about these. I know they would like to thave the information at hand.

I am a needle fanatic but I need to have them identified and keep them in neat rectangular boxes within a box supplied by Axminster Tools, UK, seen on the right here http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-plastic-storage-pot-sets-prod460545/
For those tough jobs Prym Needle Grabbers – a textured rubber disc which grips the needle and pulls it through heavy fabric – are invaluable.
And my favourite make has to be John James.

My favorite needle thing is the pincushion I made. The base is a CD, the cover is felt, and it is filled with wool roving. I embroidered around the edge a little bit, and it sits on the arm of my stitching chair.
Jane

my favorite needle related tool is a clear make up box I use to bring all my little necessities while taking my embroidery classes at the guild. my fav embroidery tool has to be my vintage wooden embroidery hoop given to me by my mother law-which belonged to her mother, circa 1930’s,

These look so cool. My favorite embroidery related thing is my sewing basket. It contains everything I need to work on a project. My only complaint is that all my needles are just stabbed into a pin cushion or in some of the needle envelopes that the needles came in, and also the circular plastic things where the top spins and there’s a little hole in the side where you can shake it and a needle will fall out of it. Therefore, my needles are in complete disarray and i have no way of knowing now what type or size they are, so these little needle minder cards would be a huge help to me not only for organization, but for identification too!

I have a couple of needle cases that I made that I use for particular projects. But I have run into so many different kinds of needles when cleaning up my sewing room that I eventually had to try to identify them, label them and put them on a piece of felt in order to keep them straight. I really need these organizers!

My favorite needlework tool is a set of decorative wooden needle tubes. They’re painted with various designs and I’ve marked the bottom with the size. Unfortunately, that doesn’t automatically mean I get the right size in the tube:-(

If I had to choose a favorite, it would be the little needlepoint needlebook I bought at the Dorset County Museum while we were on vacation in the UK. It’s the perfect size, and I love knowing that someone stitched it with love so that the museum could raise funds to continue its mission. The needlebook is a small link between me and the home of my favorite author, Thomas Hardy, as well as a memento of a wonderful trip.

My favorite needle accessory, I think, is the little pincushion/scissors stand I made out of a wooden spool. It’s certainly the one I use most! The pincushion part is wrapped around the spool and the scissors get stuck into the top, with a little bit of felt in there to cushion the tip. The one flaw is that it’s terribly top-heavy with the scissors in, so I’ve had to learn to set my scissors in there just right… but it’s still incredibly handy.

Mary these needle cards are great. I would like them to use as teaching tools for my sewing 101 class as I usually describe the different needles, but don’t have a great way to show them.

My favorite needle thing is the wooden needle case that my mother-in-law rosmalled especially for me. I also make coasters to use as needle/pin cushions out of scrap quilt fabrics for my students. When empty they can also keep my favorite drinks from making a mess on the table.

Wow..why didn’t I think of this wonderful idea! No longer trying to match up loose needles into size and type. What’s even more important is ,for a change, I wouldn’t have to be a “doofus”. With these set of needle cards, I could join join the ranks of those professional “know-it-all stitchers” in my chapter ..at least I would be able to categorize and identify my needles!!!
My favorite tool is my magnetic extended wand with a flash light tip that can find those needles that I lose on the floor which can be horrible on my cats’ feet.

I had fiddled around with bullions using a tapestry needle, which was what I had on hand. I figured a needle was a needle. Imagine my amazement and happiness when I purchased the suggested straw/milliners needle — bullions, no problem! As for the needle cards, even if I don’t win I’m going to be looking for a set.

Mary, so small and valuable and so well put together. My favourite I just wrote a long note about and my computer went down so I will just say it is a larger book version of the same type of needle keeper. I also love my needlebooks as they carry all that I need when I am stitching for each project.

What a super idea.
My favourite accessory is my clip on magnifier.
I have tried several but this one by Daylight is by far the best for me.I can see everything clearly and when I look up I can see everything around with out taking it off my glasses.

My favorite needle-related accesory is a little turned-wood needlecase that I got in Colonial Williamsburg. Not only do I use it for reenactments (carried in my hand-embroidered pocket, of course) I take it everywhere because it’s so portable and cute–and the needles can’t slip out or stab me through it.
Thanks for the giveaway!

Mary, what a neat idea! I have a beautiful little wooden box with swing out lids. I stitched roses on silk gauze to decorate the top. The needles are held by the magnetized bottom and it is so handy to have them close, but now I can’t identify most of them for sure. Your packet of cards would be just the thing to help keep them identified.

I keep my needles in a handmade little felt book. Completely unorganized and useless. I cannot wait to get my hands on a Needle ID case! Now if I just had one for quilting needles, too, my life would be bliss.

I have a lot of old needles hanging around that I have not a clue as to what type they are. Some are mine from years ago, some are yard sale or thrift store finds that came in packages with other goodies. I think the needle I.D. cards are brilliant!

My favourite needle thing is a newly acquired little magnet thing with a ceramic top and a picture of moon and stars. It fits inside my little OXO project tin (in the lid) and is just perfect for holding various needles for the project in progress – I don’t know how I got to the age of 52 without one!

These needlecards are an absolutely brilliant idea – I’m often unsure what size needle I am selecting and these are perfect to ensure the right one each time – and to identify some of the mysterious needles in my stash!

Actually J made a needle book with 2 pockets for the needle and perhaps to your pretty card ?? When J embroider ,I have next me a very nice Butterfly magnet…J love too much
Thanks Mary for this give away

Awww, Mary, you are always offering so many great items.
Needle ID cards are EXACTLY what I have searched for on the Internet.
I tend to use needles and eventually lose the package they came from
I am usually at a loss as to the needle # I am looking at.
My favorite needle of late is the size 9 Milliners needle.
My favorite 2 things I like to use regarding my needles are:
(1) an old tomatoe pin cushion with strawberry for sharpening
(2) my trusty extendable pole magnet. To pick up my dropped needles
I bought the pole magnet at a mechanic store.
Thanks for all you do. I am a better embroiderer for it.
Blessings, LaVenia

These cards look terrific! I would LOVE to have a set! All of my needles are a muddle and to say that I use the correct needle for every project……wellllllllll….. That said, I seem to settle on using John James millner needles for much of my regular embroidery. I have large hands and these needles fit well along with allowing me to switch between dimensional embroidery and regular embroidery without changing needles which saves me time.

I keep try to keep my needles in their original packages with a project or just leave the needle I’m using in the fabric edge–their identity comes into question quite often as there are just too many projects going all at once!

For embroidery I currently use either Clover gold eye or Foxglove Cottage.
Most of my embroidery is used in quilting projects (combining the two cuts down on the number of projects–yeah, right! dream on! For quilting I use Richard Hemming & Sons Milliners, Betweens and Sharps. I love the 11 & 12 Betweens for English paper piecing but my athritis says use the longer Milliners needles. My small hands love small needles.

My favorite needlework “tool” is a needlebook I received in a swap that has a beautiful hardanger cover. I really “need” these id cards as my needlebook is full of needles and I have no idea what size etc they are! I really need to identify them and then somehow identify the pages in my needlebook. I do mostly cross stitch so use 24 to 28 size needles. I just recently bought some Bohin needles because you raved about them. lol BTW, I am enjoying using them.

My favorite tool with my needles is a very simple item; a piece of magnetic strip (used to hold a window treatment to the window frame) with an adhesive back. I put a two inch piece in the top of my plastic thread box to hold my needles while I am working.
Currently, I am teaching a class to do embroidery (adults and kids) and I have been asked what size needle I use. I have no idea–this would be a really great set to own.

Hi Mary,
My favorite needle related tools are a needlebook I designed long ago which is kept in a shaker box that also has a place for scissors and a hoop in the lid. The other things are small rare earth magnets. Most favorite needles now are my Japanese needles and needlefelt.
This new tool is a great idea – often the needles in kits at seminar classes are hard to figure out after the class so these cards would really help me sort them all out.

HI Mary
these needle ID cards are so helpfull and nice too.
I have always needles going down in my sewing box ; this set would therefore be very useful for me.
I have an assortment of pincushions and homemade needle cases ; I often buy needles cause I never have the good needle for my work ;strange is not it??
many thanks Mary for the opportunity to win
Michèle

My favorite needle-related item I have is my needle threader(s). I have two types: one is a hand-held plastic rectangle with a thin wire attached to thread through the eye of the needle, and the second one sits upright by itself and holds a needle while the thread is pushed through the eye. Love both, and find both indispensable. I wish these types of tools had been available to our stitching ancestors, whose many talents were lost because their vision deteriorated and they did not have these handy and useful tools to help them.

Hi Mary:
I find the greatest things on your site. I love needles amd even though I have a needlebook with picutres to match the needles, its a little bulky for everyday use. The cards and their small size look like they would work great for travel. Currently I have several snack size bags full of needles(at least I can find them) I am enjoying crewel needles these days. I like the dimension and the small size. I know its not always right, but I like using the smallest needle possible for the project. Thanks for all the great giveaways.
Lorie in Massachusetts

That’s a difficult question. Good scissor is a must. I love my mother’s embroidery hoop, my pincushions, emeries and other needle keepers, I can take care of my needles well with them. If I could buy an antique silver needle case, that would be my favourite tool of all times.

these cards look so handy for identifying needles. i made a pincushion with 4 sides and put an initial on each side to keep different types of needles separated (m for milliners, e for embroidery, etc) and that has worked out well most of the time. but these cards identify the size as well as the type which is so helpful.

The Needle ID cards you reviewed look very handy. My favorite needlework tool has to be the Needle Index. I’ve used my original one for years; it goes in every stitching bag I carry and as a result, I always have a variety of needles on hand that stay put and are easy to access. And it’s starting to see some signs of age. If only there were a product that combined the functionality of both the Needle Index and the Needle ID cards – storage, information and durability. Thanks for the reviews, Mary. I have developed a large wish list from your reviews of books and tools.

Mary,
These little cards look very handy. I have a booklet put out by an EGA chapter with a similar purpose, and felts to hold needles, so I understand the purpose. These cards would be handy to take along in a stitching bag.

My favorite needle-related tool may be a little beaded humbug (w/fringe) about 1″ high that contains a magnet so it’s a needleminder. Came as a kit from Fernridge Collections, and it worked up quickly. This pattern has a beehive and a bee charm. It’s easy to take along to stitching groups, and helps me keep better track of needles. Cute and practical.

I don’t have a favorite needle related tool but I do love pretty needlecases.
I have a tip to dispose of broken or damaged needles, pins and craft knife blades. I save them into a pill container with a childsafe lid and dispose of them when the container is full.
Love the I.D. cards I have lots of unidentified needles and this would really help me get my collection in good order.
The site is fab specailly like the stitch play.
Brenda from Somerset England.

I use mainly ball-point needles for counted cross stitch and I keep them in a little plastic box with a magnet on it so the ones I’m using stay in one place while I’m working with them.
Thank you for the chance to enter this contest. I think these little needle cards and case as cute, too.

Just started embroidery in May 2012 and hence havent thought much about favorite item. However, I use Milward Needle and threader. I use
a cigar case to store needles that are not much used. I use a felt piece for the ones in use. It works well. As I progress,I might be able to compare and have my favorite. I am in the process of acquiring all related stuff especially good thread.
Sarah from Bahrain

This is my favorite Needle Book.http://www.egausa.org/html/shop_fundraising.html
The Needle Index-Identify, organize, and store your needles! This booklet takes the mystery out of which needle to use with threads and techniques. It also gives history, descriptions, and pictures of every size of 12 types of embroidery needles, and wood-felt storage pages. I ordeered from Valley Quail Chapter-EGA
Pat CraneValleyQuail@comcast.net

I have a this little enveloped style quilted with felt and pockets in it, that’s where I USED to keep all my needles., In the last year or so, I haven’t gotten to be tidy, for I did project to projects, until I opened it again and theres all the needles I used. Now, I have no idea what sizes they are except the size 24 Tapestry needle for thats the one I have been using since the last year. God knows where are my embroidery needles, i don’t know where they are now. I like the DMC brand of needles, I haven’t tried the gold ones, I’m quite happy with DMC and more popular and not very hard to find. A tool like this to keep all my needles, is a good treat for me and my needles for its a good home for them with all the right sizes. Fun!

I really would appricate something like this in my kit, for I have WAY to many needes that I don’t know what they are–if they are pointed (sharp)- it’s for sewing- and if dull on the end….it’s a xstitch needle!….but what size????this would be the answer to all my problems.

My needles are currently a mess and I would love a way to organize them better. This looks the answer to my dilema. I would love to have these. Also, I want to tell you how much I appreciate your newsletter. I learn something new with every one. I have never “set up my hoop” and I followed your instructions to do so–what a difference. Thanks a million!

I think the Needle ID cards sound great I must admit I keep my needles in an antique needle case.
I find that I can probably tell what sort of needle but have trouble working out the size’s so the ID Cards would be very helpful.
If I am not fortunate enough to will a set can you tell me were in the UK I can buy a set.
Please keep up the good work I look forward to reading you page everyday.

I think the Needle ID cards sound great I must admit I keep my needles in an antique needle case.
I find that I can probably tell what sort of needle but have trouble working out the size’s so the ID Cards would be very helpful.
If I am not fortunate enough to win a set can you tell me were in the UK I can buy a set.
Please keep up the good work I look forward to reading you page everyday.

My favorite needle-related thing actually belongs to my mother, but I hope it will be mine someday. It’s a hand embroidered heart-shaped pincushion made by HER mother, in Budapest. It’s red and white felt and has a traditional Hungarian flower design embroidered in the center.
These needle cards seem so handy! Very useful, especially as a beginner who is still learning her way around the tools of the trade…

Hi Mary,
I think those little cards are delightful. I seem to have lots of unidentified needles that I think I know what they are but not really sure.
I guess the best needle accessory that I have this a little plastic case that closes but the whole bottom inside is a magnet so it is very easy just put your needles in there. Of course that is how I lose track of which needle is which.
Thanks for sharing your new find. Have a Happy 4th.

Wonderful tool! My favorite needlework tool is a pair of needlenose pliers! Sounds crazy, but if you do lots of cast-on flowers in heavier threads, it can save your fingertips while pulling the needle through.

My favorite needle accessory is the needleminder my dd made for me. She took an old piece of porcelin and glued a magnet underneath. I am always “losing needles” and so now when I am done with my needle, I place it in there. Which is why I may have to get my own set of these cards…I have no clue as to what all those needles are!

My favorite needles for a lot of the handwork I do on my quilts are Milliners 11. I love the way they bend slightly as I work and that they are very sharp. As I get older however, it gets harder and harder to see the eye to thread them.

Yay! Give-away! 🙂
My favorite needle-related item among my needlework tools is… my pincushion! Actually, I have a few, and I find them so adorable that I believe I’ll keep adding them to the collection. Plus, they are very quick projects, which brings me that accomplishment feeling I need from time to time (especially when I get myself into huge long-term projects!).
Thanks for the gift, Mary! 🙂

Oh my gosh, I could really use this!! I usually write on the needle package or scotch tape what the project is I’ve used the needles for, has to be ‘old age’ coming on! lol These cards would be super organized for me and so handy. I love the measuring, the little case to keep them in and being small, it fits into travel sewing basket. Oh, I do hope it’s me to have three others join me in excitement of winning!!!! Thanks. Gloria in Texas

I’m a fanatic for organization, but sadly, when it comes to my needles, I don’t have a very good system. The needles I purchase I keep in the package they come in. The needle I’m using I keep pinned into the far upper right of the fabric, where it won’t interfere with mounting or matting. The problem comes when it’s time to put a needle away – which package does it go back into? I have to compare the needle I’m putting away with all the needles in their packages to see which one is the “closest fit”; I have to compare the length, thickness, and eye – not always easy. A system such as the one you’re offering in the giveaway would solve my problem, and be a really neat thing to have to allow me to organize my needles, along with all the other things I use (and have organized!).

My favorite needle-related tool is my needle book. It was my first attempt at needle painting and it turned out quite well. There is one disadvantage to a needle book. At least, when you’re me. I am kind of organized, but not it is a thing I have to remember… So I usually just stick my needles in my book and think that the next time I will remember what size they are. Well, I don’t. So these needle ID cards are my rescue. I would really like to purchase them, so please Mary keep us updated on where to get them. I hope they will be for sale in Europe soon.

Oh Mary, oh Mary, where do you find such nic naky things? I love these cards.
My favourite needle keep is a heart shaped lacey one I made many years ago, I love it cause it reminds me of my daughter. When she was little she would play with it and arrange the pins in the heart shape in the centre.
Thank you Mary for your inspiratition every day… Kerrie in Adelaide

I came upon one of my favorite needle related thing quite by accident. I was taking beading classes from a Native American woman. We were pushing our needles through poster board, pellon, and velvet layered upon one another. I use a thimble but sometimes in the construction process we were working in very tight spaces. She recommended using a needle nose pliers to grip the end of the needle & pull it through. I wasn’t about to use the one from my husband’s tool box so I purchased a small one used by jewelry makers. It works better than a thimble because there is less chance of snapping the needle in half. It works better than a forceps because it doesn’t lock closed. I now have one in my portable sewing kit, my home sewing kit & my sewing room. It is also easy on the hand.

I actually have two favorite items. One is my Cherry Red magnetic wand, great for picking needles or such that fall on the floor and brightly colored so I can always find it.. The other is a eight divided pin cushion, that is great for seperating needles etc.
I love the card idea… once my needles are taken out of the sleeve they come in, I’m always guessing what size they are and where they go.

My favorite needle tool is the pincushion I made out of felted wool; I keep all my needles in it that are “in use”. I also have become very partial to Bohin Needles. My fingers are crossed – the cards look cool!

These little needle cards look like a great new sewing tool and I would love to have them!
I seem to have quite a few needles that are stuck into felt shapes form various classes I’ve taken, and with these cards I could “remember” what they are.
I can’t think of my favorite needle related item – it is just too hot to think here!
But my favorite needle is a chenille. It seems to be the one I use most often.

My favorite tools ( I have 2) are my pincushion and my magnetic board. I love the board because it holds my pattern securely and sometimes other things, like scissors, pens and pencils. The pincushion is a small pillow with an angel embroidered on it and I just adore angels. I smile each time I stick my needle in it!

My favorite needle tool is – sandpaper. I always have a piece of fine grained paper around to sharpen my needles. Generally I don’t bother sharpening most needles, but some needles – especially those use in Japanese Surface Work – are favorites. Inexpensive method to keep even the common needles sharp.

My favorite needle related item is a needle case made with silk with a felt inside by my Great Grandmother. We lived in a downstair flate of my Great Grandmother’s home in San Francisco. I was 3 or 4 when I would go up stairs to visit with Jane. She had long hair that I got to brush while she sat in her chair and did hand stitching. I get such a warm feeling when I hold the needle case which has bot to be more than 100 years old. I suppose seeing her doing stitching was one of the persons who influenced me to do hand work. My Grandmother also did hand work and was another person. Anyway the little needle case is my most cherished needle related item. Judy

I love the needle cards and the chance to win. I hate to admit it, but aside from my pincushion, I stick my needles in the arm of my chair if I am going to stitch again soon. I always have it threaded so I can see it. We are empty nesters, so I don’t have to worry about kids or dogs getting stuck or hurt. My stitchery project is usually in the seat of my chair. I do put things away at night or at the end of a TV/stitching session. One of these days I’ll make a needle case. I have a bookshelf by my chair and I have baskets filled with floss and supplies. I like to have things close in case I want to audition a new color!

My favorite needle resting place is a crocheted replica of a “ladie’s” pincushion that I made years ago. Of course, I always forget which needles I left in it.

The I.D. Cards are wonderful, not just because of their cuteness, but because they would help me sort through a bunch of needles that I’ve just tossed into a container. I forgot what I used them for…(sigh.)

How exciting!!! My preference is English needles but I also have a small jar full of needles that I have collected over the many years of embroidery work. I would love to win a set of these & show them to all of my EGA friends.Thx much for this opportunit Mary.

The Needle ID cards are a great tool to have with all the needles,threads and accessories that I have accumulated. Sometimes, when I’m finished for the day, and the last step is to put everything away, I get lazy and don’t do it. When I go back at a later date, I can identify the threads and fabric but am often confused as to what needle I used. I hate wasting time having to figure it out, since time is a precious commodity.

My favorite needle tool is a threader! The Needle ID Cards will be a great addition to the winner. I try to keep my needle with my project but once I have finished I never remember what size it was! Great giveaway. Thanks.

My favorite tool is my . . . totebags. (Is that a tool?) I love my totebags. I have too many, but I can never resist a new totebag. I can needlework out of the house often and I take as long to choose a totebag as I do a skirt. Totebags!!

Mary, Your emails are always so full of such interesting information. Before I comment on the needle part, did you reveal that you are a “Lark Rise to Candleford” fan? Your comment is Dorcas’s frequent justification when she enjoys something, “It’s my one weakness”.

Now to the needle related part. Your information is always so timely. I was sorting through my needles after the recent postings about English needles, and realised that I wasn’t always as organized as I am today and many of my needle sizes are a bit of a mystery. I use the “roll two between finger and thumb method” to find which is the smaller, then compare to what I have stored correctly. It’s a bit hit and miss, but sometimes works. The needle size card set sounds such a good tool to have. It is so practical to have – similar to yarn guides I use for knitting yarn. If I don’t win one, I will certainly buy one.
Thanks again, Mary, for so much enjoyable reading.

My favorite ‘tool’ if you will is Needle n’ Thread, being so illiterate in the things of needle work I look forward to every new post. I would so love to win a set, I don’t know the difference between all the different needles and I probably don’t use the right ones for the right things either!

Mary, my favourite needle thing is a needle roll I embroidered about 8 years ago. I had little experience of doing anything other than cross stitch at the time, but saw the Jacobean design and loved it. I embroidered the cover on silk with DMC and metallic threads with beads to embellish it. On the long leaves of the book, I embroidered the names of various types of needles. I use it all the time.

Asking me my favourite needle related tool, is like asking my favourite chocolate, too many to choose from! But if I had to pick it would be a needle grabber, you know the rubber disc, it just makes life so much easier when struggling to pull the needle through, it is a must have.

Or, – see too much choice, am hopeless! the plastic stick ons that help to protect your fingers instead of a thimble. My fingers are quite narrow and I just cannot get on with wearing a thimble (have even tried padding the thimble with tissue paper) and so these stick ons are very useful, especially when my fingers are so sore, they help to protect them. So while my fav picks are not the most glamourous or expensive of my tools they make my stitching easier and I couldn’t do without them.

These needle ID cards are such a good idea and I will have to invest in some as my needles are currently classified between sharp and pointy and blunt and round. I have a hedgehog situation developing on my pin cushion that desperately needs sorting out!

I like the easy concept of these needle I
d sets . I can never be sure if i have the right needle for my project. If I don’t win this set please let me know where to buy them. Thank you for the chance to win this great gift.

The favorite thing I have relating to needles is a simple tin that is decorated with vintage buttons that I keep all my needles in, most of which I have no idea of what they are or their size. So yes, I would love to win this gift.

Hi Mary
My favorite thing related to needles, it’s my threader, especially in long nights of sewing, when my eyes are very tired. I love it I think it’s a great invention. As it is these ID cards you are showing I can wait to see them here in Ireland, hope I won them.
Thanks.

My most useful needle related item is a needle threader, because of my poor eye vission is very helpful.The needle ID cards will be very useful identifing lots of needles that I have and dont know what they are.

For Christmas last year my friend gave me an Anglo-Saxon needle holder. Basically it is a metal tube into which one places a rolled piece of felt. One places the needles in the felt, rolls it and tucks it into the tube. I was very touched. Unfortunately I found it so useful it has about 20 needles in it of varying sizes and shapes. One of these sets would be very handy to identify all those needles! Thank you for this opportunity.

Finally!!! These needle holders are just what I need—yesterday!I’m trying various needle companies for my needlework projects. Of course, I have needles waiting to be identified in a wooden needle holder.Maybe these needle booklets will solve my “ID”problems! Thank you for introducing them.

Hi Mary,
I am recovering from hand surgery and typing this to you with just one hand…Perhaps my most prized needle related item is a needle case I made from a class with Lorraine Mootz. It’s a reproduction of one she owns that dates back to the 1800’s. One side is a fisherman in a boat,the other is a couple walking in a park. I think your needlecards are a fantastic idea and know that I would make good use of them if I were to be lucky enough to win a set.
Thanks for all of your wonderful newsletters – I have saved most of them in a special folder because they are so informative. Keep them coming!

I do not crrently have a favorite needle tool I really do like the cards.. I have recently gotten back into needle crafts after having been away from them for too long. I do not remember all the types so I have been taking my needles to the store and matching tem up that way so I can buy more. not very efficient.

I like the old fashioned looking needle books, escpecially when I find actual old ones at an antique store. The pictures on them are usually very cute, yes, the word cute to describe something utilitarian!!
Thanks for the opportunity to win this wonderful item! What a neat addition to my crafting supplies. I also have a lot of unidentified needles floating around.
Love your daily messages. Keep up the great work.
Diana in Sioux Falls

I am a real gadget and notions junkie but these needle id cards are the best and most useful item I’ve seen in a long time. I do many types of hand sewing-embroidery, appliqué, hand quilting, and wool appliqué and embroidery, sometimes on the same project. What a great way to be ready for everything.

My favorite needle related item is a fancy little red velvet and brass finger pincushion that I always wear on my left thumb so if I have to rethread a needle or change thread colors I have a consistent place to park my needle in plain sight where it won’t get lost or misplaced.

OOOHHHH!!!! These needle ID cards would be my favorite needle related tool! I have so many needles,and because I do not keep good organization of them, I end up buying MORE! These would have me saving money and keeping my needles organized. They would also spur me on to making the needle case I keep putting off! Thank you, Mary, for the opportunity to win!

My favorite needle related item is a small wooden box with a sliding top and small magnets inside to keep the needles from falling out. Only problem is in identifying the assortment of needles. The cards you are offering would be the finishing touch.

My favorite accessory is a tiny hand stitched needle case given to me as Christmas present from a teaching colleague more than 33 years ago . It has a little cross stitched flower on the front . I have lost contact with my friend but I always think of her & the happy times we shared in our early teaching years . Chris found time to hand make a special Christmas present for her friends and my needle case has brought joy to me for many years .

These are wonderful! I have such disorganized needles, they are usually in a pincushion or just pinned to bits of the fabric for which they are best suited.

My favourite accessories are a set of handmade woodworked tools — I have scissors with a custom fit wooden cover for the points, a needlecase (pillbox type, holds just a few needles), and a thread-laying tool. They are elegant and the wood for each is different, so they make me feel quite pampered when I do needlework.

These cards sound like an friend is trying to sort my confusion of needles. Fabulous. Mind savers.
My favourite accessory is my mother’s thimble. I inherited that and my sister inherited her sewing box. The thimble is silver with a sapphire on the top. My father gave it to my mother when I was born. So you see, I never stitch alone.

Thanks, Mary, you’ve done it again – come up with another great little idea for making my stitching time a little more pleasant. (Not having to search for half an hour for the right needle would be a blessing) I’m rather prone to using very small needles and they are always getting lost when I put down my work to do something else – lucky there’s only me and my dog living here. At present my favourite needle holder is a little case I made out of my first attempt at Dorset embroidery – I’m quite proud of it but it doesn’t have an index?????? Thanks you for your site; I look forward to catching up every day to learn something new.

My absolute favorite needle threader is one from LoRan and I keep several of them in my workbasket, travel tote, on my sewing machine and along the bar of my overhead magnifier lamp. They are metal so they are held there by magnets and they don’t get lost or broiken like the thin wire type threaders. I also mark some for project bags with tiny tassels that I put through the little hole in the body of the threader. Makes it easy to find in the project bag. Your needle ID cards are a great idea and I would love to have a set.

Exactly, what I need. I always start, or use to, by putting the needles back in their package after I had finished for the day. Now, I have what looks like a needle in a needle haystack. A frustrating situation. The cards are ideal. They are the perfect size for my stitching accesories bag.

My favourite item is a needlecase with basic embroidery on the front.I was so happy when I made it as I had always kept them in a small tin stuck into some felt.I even sent photos to my mum as this also was my foray into stitching. Alas, even though they stand in neat little rows, I have no idea what sizes they are. I like to use the John James self threading needles.

I keep all my needles in a hand made and embroidered needlecase that my mother made for me many years ago. Whilst I could not part with it because of its sentimental value I would love one of the ID gifts you are giving away so that I could check to make sure I am using the correct needle for an embroidery project. All needles are valuable and I could not single out one that would be better than another, but I am a great believer that you must have the correct needle for the job. This would make an excellent gift to my embroidery basket (I don’t think I could give it away – I want it for myself!!)

I have two favourites, a Tasmanian timber needlecase with a very tight closure and a book I embroidered to hold packets of needles. I have thought of designing a needle case with separate pages for different kinds of loose needles – to partially solve the problem these cards address. They are brilliant!

I have several favorite items. But my most favorite is the Clover needle threader. Just a push of the lever and threading is done, just love it. The storage part is easy, I made a pin cushion using an old embroidered blouse that once belonged to my 90 year old mother. It serves a propose and each time I use it,a vision of my mother comes to me.

Hi Mary, What a great idea! I don’t have a favourite needle item, other than needles themselves! I am always planning on making a needle roll to sort all my needles, but still haven’t gotten around to it, maybe because I don’t know what the needles are now!!?!

I love my pincushions maybe I should call them needlecushions as they are full of needles. Your article got me thinking I might make a set one for each type of needle. Of course I would need a set of needle sorters so I could sort them out
I have some lovely needle books but my needles never seem to make it back into them

My favorite needle-related item is the Needle Index book. It is a lovely way to store and file my needles appropriately. This way they are ready for an easy find when I need them. I use the magnet often while stitching. Thanks to that little tool I loose very few.

All my needles end up in felt needle books, willy-nilly. When I need a needle, I just pick one that seems the right size and pointiness for the thread and fabric I’m using.

Serious question – am I missing something? I mean, does it make a difference using a crewel needle instead of an embroidery needle? Now I’m wondering if my embroidery can be improved by using specific needles for specific embroidery tasks.

I like small tins (Altoids, etc). Large enough to hold a felt needlebook with many needles, a seam ripper, fold-up scissors, thread, a thimble, a small marking pencil, and a magnet glued inside the lid to hold some pins. Basically a tidy, portable, compact sewing basket that can be thrown into a small baggie with my current project.

Mary, I don’t really have a type or brand of ‘favorite needle’as I now can’t tell what is what any more I do need a sorting system as they all end up in my favorite needle holder, which is from my Mother. A red Tomato Pincushion with the little strawberry attached. I can’t even guess how old it is.
I would love to have a way to organize the needles. Thanks for the chance to win.
Sherry in Florida

My favorite needle related tool is my little “bling” crab needle magnet. The crab is significant because I’m from Maryland, and we are known for our blue crabs. The little magnet is made of pretty sparkly crystals, so it is especially cute. It also does the important job of keeping my needle handy while I am stitching, and safe when I am finished. All in all, it is the perfect needlework tool!!

What a brilliant package of cards. I have a lovely little magnet needle keeper beside my stitching spot that is too full of needles as I am afraid to put them into a case under the wrong type. I will be ordering one of these for sure.

My favourite needle thing is a lovely little decorative needle minder that I can put directly onto my current project (off to the side of course) and allows me to park my needle with the thread still attached and will stay put until I next need it for the project. No more hunting on the floor for the dropped needles when I flip my work over.

I’ve been stitching for just a year – some surface embroidery, crewel work and Japanese embroidery – but still haven’t sorted out which needle is which. I can see immediately that your guide is just what I need to bring order to the mish-mash of needles and bits and pieces in my kit. I wonder if I am the only male who reads your blog every day?

My favourite embroidery tool is a tapestry needle mounted in a small handturned wooden handle – great for unpicking (most common use!), thread manipulation, and general poking of stitches to get them to behave.

My favorite needle tool is my needle threader. I just can’t live without it. Next is my needle magnet, it helps me to not lose my needles so often. I do have a needle book, similar to your cards, but it is too bulky to carry around. I would love to have the cards.

I have been using my pin container which has a magnetic ring around the top of which looks like a jar for more than forty years. I just give it a shake and a few pins stick up held in place by the magnet, when finishing with a pin I can poke them back inside the container. It is very battlescarred but I can’t part with it.

My favorite stitching item is a piece of felt, any shape, attached to my stretcher bars with a tack for my needles. It is more secure than the magnets or any other type of needle park. Simple and inexpensive and you can cut the felt into any shape and have a huge choice of colors!

I would love to win this as I teach a class on Needles and Threads:New Options for Your Creative Toolbox. I stress the importance of buying excellent quality needles, which are the least expensive supply for sewing. My favorite needle is the self-threading needle which makes burying threads for quilting and dressmaking so effortless. I prefer the John James and Clover brands in this needle.
Thanks for your informative blog!

What a smart idea…to be able to identify your needle by looking at ID card, love it.
I made a felt needle holder using your dictionary of stitches and I love it to pieces.
I will order some for myself and if I win, I will share with a friend.
Thanks Mary.
France

Hi Mary
I´m still pretty disorganised – have no special needle-related tools BUT my intention is to sew up a special needlecase in the near future. These cards would really come in handy to identify my assortment of needles…
Regards

Love the idea of these cards, what a great way to keep track of needles. My greatest tool at each of my stitching stations is a needle threader as the eyes in the needles keep getting smaller as I get older.

BEST IDEA THIS YEAR. I have needles in plastic cases with magnet on base but the problem is I don’t remember what each needle is. Needle ID cards would solve all my problems. I use Bohin courture Sharps at the moment to sew bindings on my quilts. So nice to use and best part of quilting the finishing off and giving them to my Grandchildren as this is the year each of the 7 of them will be given a new quilt for their birthdays. Three done 2 underway and 2 still in planning stage.
Karen Western Australia

My favourite needle at the moment is a gold embroidery needle which my friend gave me as a gift. She purchased it in Paris, France recently. I’m using it on Belfast linen to do tent stitch; it works beautifully, sliding through the holes without splitting the linen threads. It is a tapestry needle but the end seems flatter than those in my collection. She couldn’t tell me the brand or maker unfortunately.

I’d love these little needle identifiers! My favourite needle related item definitely has to be my pincushion that I store all my needles in. My aunt gave it to me when I was a child. I’m still very much a beginner embroiderer so it would be so handy to have one of these identifiers because I have so many needles that I have no idea of what they are!

Hi Mary. The Needle ID cards are cute, cute. Another timely post from you as I am doing a late Spring cleaning of my sewing room & have several unidentifiable needles in various locations. My favourite needle rest is a small magnetic bird that sits on my magnifying light. No chance on losing them there. Well, almost.
Cheers, Linda A
Ontario, Canada

love the idea of having these ID cards!They would be such a good help, I’m just starting 2 different projects and I’ve been reading about which are the best needles I should use. I didn’t know there is such a wide variety of needles… For daily use I use a little plastic box with a piece of a magnetic board inside. To keep all the rest of my needles I have two plastic cases, one with tapestry neddles and a second one with the sharp ones inclusing bead needles

What’s your favorite needle-related item among your needlework tools? Beeswax star – a beekeeper friend makes them special for me. I like to wax thread for beading especially and sometimes just to keep control of the thread.

The. needle cards look won
needle cards look wonderful I’m
a novice &am looking for ways to get organized
They would really help! I’m still looking for my
Favorite needles my favorite item I have is a wonderful hand made needle
case it is beautiful & makes a great way for carrying them with me to
groups & for travel They are one of a kind so if you put them out
you can find them easily my case is blue with a handmade flower that has
raised petalS

The. needle cards look won
needle cards look wonderful I’m
a novice &am looking for ways to get organized
They would really help! I’m still looking for my
Favorite needles my favorite item I have is a wonderful hand made needle
case it is beautiful & makes a great way for carrying them with me to
groups & for travel They are one of a kind so if you put them out
you can find them easily my case is blue with a handmade flower that has
raised petals Thank you for another wonderful give away

Oh these cards *are* nice! They’d certainly help sort the needles in my pincushion into something other than “pointy” and “blunt”.

my favorite needlework tool – I have 2. First is a very pointy tipped embroidery scissors that I’m almost afraid to use, as I’m the points are so fine I fear dropping it on them. Or sitting on them :O . My other favorite is the daylight lamps, I just can’t stitch by normal lamplight any more.

I have a little wooden needle case that I like. Of course by now I have several needles in it that I have no idea what size they are, so they don’t actually get used much. I’ll definitely be buying the needle id cards (if I don’t happen to win one). What a great idea!

What a clever idea! I have so many unidentified needles…I could really use this. I didn’t know about your blog until after your “Nesting Place” class was over but I would have loved to have taken that class!!!! Right now I have a small tool box that I have all my needles in their original packages in, except those needles I have used and didn’t remember which package they came from. I bought some dyed wool and plan on making a needle case this winter. Thanks for sharing

My favorite tool(s) are magnetic needleminders. I use them as intended, but also have them up and down my Verilux lamp w/magnifier (to hold my scissors, a set of tweezers, needle threader and other things that I want close at hand

My favorite needle related item is the little needle book made and given to me by a friend of fabric and batting. But the Needle I.D. cards would surely help me keep track of the needles that get stuck into a pincushion and become unidentified needles.

HI Mary,
One of my very favorite things to use while stitching is a magnifier. It is not that I necessarily need it, but it just makes the process extremely enjoyable for me.
The needle i.d. cards are brilliant!
Happy fourth of July!
Chris

My favorite tool is my telescoping magnet that helps me rescue needles that have fallen to the floor or in my chair or anywhere else. It is a tool I purchased at a white elephant sale from another stitcher and it has gotten a lot of use.
Gail in Rocky Mount

My favorite needle work item would have to be my Ott Lite with magnifier. As I get older I am not able to see my work as well. I thought I would have to quit my favorite hobby until I bought my light. I will be doing needlework forever now!

My favorite needle related item is my gorgeous needlebook stitched and given to my by a dear friend. It is a large (8″ X 8″) book with about 8 “pages”. Each page has an embroidery on it and the needle name embroidered as well. The cover is exquisitely embroidered with ribbon, beading and fun threads and it all looks very luscious and Victorian. My favorite bit is a gorgeous beaded peacock on the inside cover! It holds all my needles safe and sound and keeps them organized

Personally I love needlebooks hand made. My observation tells me it is very feminine to have a needlebook. The nostalgia of it all is pleasant. When I bring my needlebook with me it always receives an OOH and AHHH. On the other hand, this new tool for needles is soooo perfect for organizing my needles. Organizing is my passion for my needlework or I feel sloppy and do not respect my hobby, plus I dislike trying to find things misplaced.

Hi Mary-
My favorite needle related item is the Clover desk top needle threader. I’ve worn out one and now have two so I always have a back up on hand. The needle ID cards look like real winners! I’d love to own a set.

It’s amazing. Sometimes you don’t know what you need until you see it. This is one of those times. I don’t have a brand of needles that I prefer, nor do I have a favourite needle-related item. But I now know what I’ve been missing. Your Needle ID Cards are an absolutely wonderful idea.

The most useful tool I have when working on a project is a pincushion which I stick all the needles in as I stop using them. The problem is at the end of a project Im often confused about the different sizes so this ID guide would be brilliant. My favourite needles are by Bohn.

I’m ashamed to say that I have a home made needle case that is absolutely stuffed with needles of all sizes and kinds. Beading needles mixed up with tapestry needs, chenille and embroidery side by side. I have no idea of make and sometimes type. The needle case you described is nothing short of wonderful and would be so useful to those of us who are needle illiterate.
Diane

I made a crazy patchwork needlebook from all sorts of textured, delicate cream fabrics that friends gave me to hold all my needles. I embellished it with embroidery, lace, beads and trinkets that I was also given, lovely memories each time I use it. Pockets for scissors and needle packets are on the inside covers along with numerous named wool pages for my needles. However once on the page the needle size is a mystery and I revert to opening a new needle packet. One of these special Needle ID Cards would be fabulous to identify my needles and would fit perfectly into the inside pocket.

My favourite needles are John James, have gold eyes, they glide through any fabric and I like to use a 10 straw needle for stumpwork.
Thanks for the opportunity to share our favourite things.

My favorite needle related tool is a needle book that describes and sizes needles – like the one that you described – and also has a felt page to hold each individual needle type. The only problem is that it is big and holds ALL your needles. Would love to win so that I could have a small identifier to carry in my current project.

I would love to have the pack of needle cards. What a great tool when looking for the right needle. I keep my needles in needle books I’ve stitched which is my favorite place. I don’t always know what size the needles are though. I so enjoy your stitch ideas and the great gadgets you tempt us with. Keep it coming. Ganet in Ventura

Finally a tool to help me figure out what kind and size needle is in my pin cushion, or needle storage carry-along. My favorite needle tool is my “Needle Nanny” not only will it hold my needle while clipping or getting more thread, but it’s a great tool for holding my scissors especially while traveling.

I love my John James #12 needle. They “fit” any tiny bead I choose to use and are super handy to lock down threads when I use silk “over one” designs. I keep them in a favorite wool needle case to keep them from rusting.

WHAT A SIMPLY MARVELLOUS PRODUCT! I HAVE BEEN STITCHING FOR MANY YEARS AND, YES, I DO HAVE STAYS! I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO COME ALONG. I HAVE TO WONDER THOUGH, WAS IT DEVELOPED BY A FRUSTRATED NEEDLEWOMAN… OR OR HUSBAND!!

My favorite needle-related tool is a thimble, but not just any thimble. Sterling silver, my mom brought it to me from New Orleans, her last vacation trip before she became ill with breast cancer. I can hardly pick up a needle without thinking I have to wear my thimble. And I always remember my mom when I do.

MY FAVOURITE NEEDLEWORK TOOL IS A BLACK FELT NEEDLEBOOK I MADE MANY YEARS AGO IN THE SHAPE OF A VICTORIAN LADY. HER SKIRT IS EMBROIDERED AS A GARDEN FULL OF FLOWERS. THERE IS ONLY ONE FELT PAGE WITH ANTIQUE LACE ON THE EDGE. ONLY ONE PAGE BECAUSE IT HOLDS MY FAVOURITE NEEDLES AND ALL I NEED FOR ANY PROJECT.

I love those cards! I have loads of needles everywhere and never sure what size… I just eyeball it. These could become my favorite needlework tool, but… until I have some, my very favorite tool is my Ott Light.

I am a new embroider and as yet do not have a favorite needle related item. I have been practicing different stitches with different needles. I have used different sizes and types of John James,Dritz,and DMC needles so far. All of which are in a fabric swatch. The Needle ID Cards would be a tremendous help. Also, your site is a tremendous help. Bless you for your videos.

my needle-holder was turned from Huon pine in Tasmania, while I watched the craftsman, on a recent holiday, but my favourite needlework item has to be my handy magnet on a retractable stem, with it’s own torch! As I sew on every train and car trip, it’s just great if i drop my snippers or pins…though I have a great tip for when you’re threading a needle while travelling…easy, just make sure the needle is stuck in a small piece of felt while you’re threading!

My favourite needles are kept in an old chateline I made 50 years ago. This little needlecase is embroidered with blackwork and has Doctor’ flanel leaves which keep the needles in excellent condition. I love sharp neer ones which do their purpose efficiently

My Needle case is a home made out of corduroy fabric and inside is filled with “pages” of batting for my needles. I have no clue the size or type of needles that are stuck on the the many pages so I must guess when I want to do stitchery of some type. I would LOVE to win one of these!!
Thanks for this wonderful opportunity!!

I love these cards. My needle classification system is big or little, sharp or blunt, big eye or small. No clue of numbers, so this would really be useful.
My most favorite needlework tool was my original tekobari with silver carrier. Unfortunately, the Postal Service lost the box with that and a lot of other things. From then on, my tools go with me not in mail or shipped baggage.
Now, my favorite tool is still my tekobari. Wouldn’t be without it.
Thanks, Mary

My favorite needle-related item is an embroidered needle book given to me from a friend last Christmas. But, like so many others here, all my needles need sorting and identifying! Your cards are not only very useful but also very cute!!! Thanks for the chance to win a set of my own.

Dear Mary,
I admit that my favourite place for needles between stitching sessions is the padded armrest of my favourite armchair. Yes, I inadvertently stabbed the underside of my forearm many times. What a good idea. These ID cards look great. Thanks for the opportunity to win a set.

My two favorite places to keep needles is 1-Red pin cushion
2-is a tray that is beside my recliner on a table.
I do all of my handwork sitting in my recliner and when i finish using a needle it winds up in the tray and then i am left wordering what kind it is. My favorite needles are John James. Thank you for all the wonderful give-aways you do.

What a gret idea! Right now my sewing box is scattered with needles that need organizing and I would really find the size Gauze helpful! I have tried different methods of organizing needles but have not been very successful – I think these will work!

I would love to win a set of these needle cards. I actually get a lot of my craft supplies second hand and it would be very helpful to identify the various needles.

One of my favoite tools is the Dritz Looped Needle threader. Not only can you thread hand sewing needles but also machine needles. My favorite use, however, is to bury embroidery threads when I have left the thread to short to comfortable bury the threads while still on the needle.

My favorite needle-related item among your needlework tools is my threader. I’ve found as I’ve matured, threading the needle can get quite frustrating, and who wants that to enter into our lovely stitching time.

My favorite needles are my John James in the packages marked Made in England. I just finished working on 9 crazy quilt blocks, and could really tell the difference between the ones in my John James package vs another brand.

Thank-you for offering this give away and Happy 4th of July to you. Diane

Oh complete and total joy at the prospect of identifying (at long last) lo those many “orphan” needles in my favorite pin cushion, made by a good friend. These ID cards will be well used if I am lucky enough to win a set. Thank you Mary for sharing their debut with us.

I have UFNs (unidentified flying needles) all over the place so I really need these cards! My favorite needle seems to change back and forth, but right now I enjoy using a number 7 James Darner. It’s easy to thread and long enough to get a good grip. My second favorite is a very short, very fine needle with a bend in the middle. It still takes delicate stitches and I can tell which is the “right” side of the eye for easier threading. I need all the help I can get!

There are a number of “tools” that I use
almost every time I stitch, but the first thing
that came to mind is zip lock bags. I put each
project I have started or kitted up into one.
The plastic bag keeps the project clean and can
easily be taken from a storage location to my working tote bag….I’d be lost with them.
Pat S. from Lebanon

I also love needlework gadgets. These Needle I.D. Cards are a great idea!! So many times, I’ll use a needle and don’t always place it back in the package it came in then forget what type or size needle it is! One of my favorite gadgets are the small button magnets to hold my chart and needle on my project. That way, the chart is at the same level as the design I’m stitching!

My only needle holder is the good ol tomatoe cushion, which I use for hand sewing needles. All embroidery needle go back in their package so I know what they are. I would love to have these needle cards, because I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to try to figure out what needle is what and what size it is!!! They dont do a very good job of labeling them, especially in multi-sized packs. What a great idea!!!

Nothing organized here for my needles! I have a few pieces of foam (not styrofoam) that I have a whole bunch of different needles stuck into. They don’t come out easily (i.e. they don’t fall out), so I can throw the foam into something for taking along and not worry. No identification, I just choose one that looks right. I suppose I can compare them to the original packages of needles, if I really need to identify any.

I love all my needlework toys – er, I mean accessories 🙂 But I must say this might become my favorite because I constantly find a needle I love (or it comes with a canvas or kit) but have no idea what it is – so I **NEED** this!!!!

This is a great idea. How many times have I had a loose needle but did not know it’s size. I would utilize this organizer right away. These would also be great gifts and door prizes for quilt games on a bus trip.

I finished making a needlebook a few months ago, but haven’t had time to sort and arranged the needles that I kept in their original package. I am afraid once I put them in the book, I won’t be able to identify the needles. So this giveaway comes in handy.

Hello Mary.
My collection of gadgets goes back over 150 years or even earlier.I inherited all of my Moms,Grandmas,great grandmas + many items from dear friends who have passed them on to me.I have a treasured packet of English needles,still in their little paper sleeve,which go back to early 1900’s.I love each and every item,and get great pleasure knowing my loved ones used and handled them and created some of the lovely needlework pieces I cherish,display and brag about their talent.As always,my fingers and in this instance my toes will stay crossed for my name to be drawn,Thanks,Judy-In-Frenchtown.

My–what a wonderful idea! These cards are neat. There is more to a needle than meets the eye!
My favorite item related to sewing is my thread keeper. I made it after a vintage looking design. It holds a spool of quilting thread. Then I have the end of the thread running thorugh the eyes of multiple needles that I have lined neatly in a row on an attached felt piece. My favorite needles are Clover Gold Eye quilting needles between #12. I use these so much in hand quilting. I have different favorites for applique and embroidery.
I learn so much from reading your column! Thanks for being a part of my sewing experience!

My favorite needle accessory is a needle book made for my birthday by my best friend. It is small, made of wool felt with little pink flowers sewn on it. She made a scissor’s keep to match, with a silk cord on it to hang around your neck to keep your scissors handy. But the needle book is always a my side so I can put my needle in a sfe place when not using it. As I have just started to collect various needles for embroidery I would love to have a set of I.D. Cards.

My favorite needle related tool is a red velvet
topped wooden pincushion made for me by my English in-laws.Dad turned the base from timber salvaged from the bell tower of the Norman church when the bells were restored and Mum who was a beautiful embroiderer made the top, They are both long gone but I have recently been to England and stayed in their beautiful Mouse Hall which was once the gravediggers cottage in the churchyard. Everytime I use my pincushion I have so many lovely memories of precious people and places

Hi Mary, what a great idea for those of us who are still al ittle inexperienced with embroidery and the types of needles to use for each project.

My favourite needlework accessory is a small needlebook given to me by my son when he was aged about 6. Made from ecru coloured cotton and lace, with silk ribbon ties, and the spine of the book has a small cotton & lace angel with her arms across the outside covers. It was from bought from the Avon (NZ) giftware range.

Just in case I should be so lucky as to have my name come out of the random generator, please know that I am in away from home and in Chirstchurch for the weekend attending the biennial Association of NZ Embroiderer’s Guilds conference and may not have access email facilities until the evening of the 10th.

These id cards for needles is great! I would love to have one. My needles are all in my handmade needle cases. However, they are all mixed up. Then I have trouble identifying them. If I was more organized I would have a separate needle case for each type of needle. The id cards would certainly help with that.

Love your newsletters. There is always something to learn from each one.

My favorite needle-related tools are something I picked up at a garage sale. They are a set of thin rectangular boxes slightly larger than a credit card and have a magnet sheet glued in the bottom. I think they were designed to hold hypodermic needles. One thing I like is that I can stick a needle threader in there and also a very small spoon, for when I work with beads.

I don’t really have a favorite when it comes to needles. I know, I should, but I don’t. All I can say about that is, I use whatever needle works best for the project I am working on. Maybe I should pay more attention to my sewing tools. It would be so nice though if I knew what all those loose needles I have in my sewing basket are as to size and all that. The needle cards sure do seem to be a great idea. Even if I don’t win a set of them, I might just go ahead and purchase a set anyway.

I have a little flat pincushion about 3″x 2″ attaached by sewing pins just pushed into the arm of my armchair. It is supposed to be the place I put my needle when I am not actually sewing with it. (supposed to prevent me having to search on the floor and everywhere in the chair, and also dragging the poor husband into the search) I try to be good and use it every time, but my pants leg are right there beside my stitching! I have an unfinished armchair caddy with pockets and pin cushion included, I will finish it one day I promise, but I can’t promise I will use it though.

Thank you so much for all your great help and ideas, love to receive your email daily.

My favorite needle assistant is an old cardboard jewelry box. It’s filled with packets and all my loose needles. I got it in a thrift store years ago, and when we moved I took the opportunity to sort of organize my tools. I put them all in the box and labelled it and I found I have dozens of loose ones. These cards look like the perfect next step for a long afternoon when I’m in tidy up mode. Thanks for the tip, the opportunity to win and the linkies!&!

My favortie needle related item is a lovely oval leather box that my Husband bought me to keep my needles, thimbles and scissors in. It sits beside my chair that I do my needlework at. I always remember the day he bought it for me.

What a great little gadget!! I would love to win a set! I have tons of magnets….some for needles, others as chart holders. Often people who know me look to see if I have any new ones! And they keep me from losing needles and then “finding” them with my foot, or another part of my anatomy!! lol

thank you for the opportunity to win this smashing prize. my favourite needles are the needles which my mum used when i was little. she taught me the arts of sewing, needlework and knitting. she had a small u-shaped magnet to pick up any strays. i have that and her needles (although i no longer have her). i also have the small piece of blue flannel in which she stuck her needles. these cards could help me identify her needles.

Mary you are so right the needle IDs are Fun. Cute. Smart. Neat.
My favourite needle based storage solution in my kit is an old leather mini cigar case that used to belong to my father. Each time I get it out it makes me smile and think of him.
Love your blog, spend lunch time at my desk with you most days.
Lee
Australia

My favorite needle tool is the Hand NeedlePack from Sewing Notions, Inc. It’s full of individual pockets that can be tagged with the included labels to note the type and size of needles you place in it. It’s a trifold style that snaps closed to keep everything secure and since it’s about the size of an index card it fits into my stitching kit easily.

Thanks for the chance to win these useful needle ID cards. They would be a great addition to my stitching tools.

Mary I have a book on embroidery and it came with a practice card. I was wondering if you know of any way I could get more practice with the different stitches? I am having trouble with the french not.

What a terrific way to organize your needles, instant size identification and great packaging idea! I would like to have it for traveling and gift out as future gifts, thanks for sharing. Your site is a new discovered delight! Happy stitching!

Hi Mary, I love your little needle cards – what a great tool! My favorite needle related items are the small wool batting filled, felted wool- appliqued pincushions I taught as a class at a local quilt shop, and a small needlebook, again out of felted wool. One of my quilting friends made it – she even embroidered little flowers on it! Thanks for your many thoughtful giveaways.

My favorite needlepoint tool is one that was intended for some other use. It was a free gift from my bank. It’s a big plastic clothespin with a quarter-size magnet attached. It makes it easy on my arthritic fingers to park & pick up my threaded needles when I’m ready to resume stitching.

Oh I would love these. I keep my needles on a pin cushion and am often bamboozled by the array and selection of the right needle for the job in hand is an impossible task. These cards would make that process a breeze. Fingers crossed they will wing their way to Africa!

Mary oh you are so bold
Your needle review having told
Once again you have me sold
My favourite needles are John James
I wamt the prize those are my aims
My needles and threads have always dwelt
Lined up, like proud soldiers
On a piece of black felt!

for sentimental reasons I love a very small dark pink needle case my elder daughter made when she was in junior school, she has embroidered needle (the wod) on the front and one lazy daisy flower, the case is stitched around the edge in blanket stitch. There is only one piece of felt folded over foe the needles, I keep needles on one piece and a few pins on the other. It is now very faded and grubby so you can see it is well loved and well used.Interested to see you talk about english and french needles did not know they were different.

My favorite needle accessory is my pincushion I made with a design from Blackbird Designs that I use at home, and a NEEDLEKEEP CLOTH BOOKLET made with two felt pages inside. It has so many possible sides that I keep my thread orts on one side, needles and current threads on the inside and on the backside a pin magnet that holds a small pair of scissors. It’s great for traveling and it’s very compact.

Oh, I could sure use something like this to identify and organize those stray needles! Brilliant!
My favorite needle tool is an old well-used strawberry emery that was my mom’s. When I use it, it reminds me of the bond we share and the wonderful gift of stitching that she encouraged in me.
currently I have been doing alot of over-one work, and am loving the Bohin #28 tapestry needles.
Happy stitching!

Greetings from Yorkshire in merry old’ England, and back home I have in my stash no less than FIVE pin tomatoes with attached little needle strawberries, all from my mum when I got her things after she died. Why five, I’ve no idea. 🙂

What a neat idea!! My favorite tool is a beaded needle holder that I made out of a recycled vaccine bottle, wooden beads, a cork, and the top of a detergent bottle. I wanted the bottle to be fancy looking so I glued different things onto the bottle, then using white pearls, beaded around everything. A top containing the cork fits into the bottle as a closure. Then I beaded a necklace so I can wear it and keep my needles close by when I am working.

My favourite needle related item is my pack of rubberised thimbles which fit over my fingers, thereby saving them much grief when working with hard fabrics. I keep my needles in separate hand sewn little books usually made out of odd bits of wadding. Keeps them safe, because i will put them away instead of sticking them in the arm of the chair which I have done every nowand then. Love this idea, new pack, well organised. Would love to have it.

Hi Mary, These needle cards look like just the ticket for me!!! I don’t really have a favorite needle felt or book or anything, but like many other things in my life, I tend to collect sometimes odd things. ie: reading books, cook books, scissors, THREAD!!, old wooden bowls, writing pens, and I find I really like lots of needles of various kinds and sizes. My past favorites have been the John James petites, but I find I am REALLY liking the new Bohin needles I have recently purchased. But I’m not very good at looking at a needle and saying: “Yeah, that’s a #24 tapestry” or whatever!! These needle cards would be awesome! Thanks again for the chance to win!

I didn’t even realise the difference in needles only that they all hurt when stuck in your fingers. I am learning embroidery and have fallen in love with the stitches. My favourite pin cushion is one that I strap to my wrist that was made for me by a lovely lady I met at sewing,thats what I love about this craft you always meet people that turn into friends.

Hi Mary, I just love those little needle ID cards they would be a very useful tool. I keep my needles in a silk needlecase embroidered with silk ribbon. I do have trouble working out what size some of my needles are if I have not used them for awhile. Also the packets of needles that come with various sizes can be confusing. Thank you once again for your generousity in giving me a chance to win a set of these Needle ID cards.

Hello Mary
What a wonderful idea!
My favourite needle related is a needle book I made a long time ago. It is flashy so I find it quickly when I am looking for needles but my needles are all mixed up and in my To Do list, is a new needle book where I could arrange my needles,your needles ID cards should help me
Thank you for this new giveaway.

I made myself a cross stitch needlecase with felt pages in it to take all my needles. Each leaf being for a specific type etc. It works very well, but sometimes gets a bit mixed up and needs sorting, but otherwise I love it too bits. Front stitched pic is of a pink teddybear hanging on the edge of a glass of red wine.

Wow, they seem really useful! At least, for the beginners like me!
I do not have (yet) any preferred brand, and the place I put the needdles, is not very useful (a little plastic container, I have to take all them out to find what I need) So I really need this!

Hi
I love your website and blog – thanks for so much information and fun.
My favourite needle-related item is a needle-case made from the first piece of felt I ever made, it goes everywhere with me.
I would love to win the set of needle cards to help me sort out the randomly-collected needles in my case, but if I don’t win, congratulations to the winners, and best love to all the stitchers out there.
C W.

My favourite needlework tool is a red leather needlecase my grandmother gave me about 70 years ago. It has a branch of cherries on the cover and inside says it contains Abel Morrall’s needles (only it doesn’t now). Each page had a sticker saying what kind of needles they were e.g.straw, embroidery,rug, chenille, double long darning, carpet, sharps, bodkins. The label on the first page has been partly lost. Anyway it is a great tool with many happy memories.

Hi Mary! My Favorite thing, it now occurs to me, are my needle books! I am talking about the ones you make or buy at craft fairs, etc. I seem to have accumulated so many over the years and have gotten out of control. I have mysterious needles in all of them. These cards would enable me to put some order in my life!!! I would love to win the needle ID cards.
Mary, you are a very generous lady. I think it is marvellous how you share your embroidery knowledge with us. Thank you Mary.

What a wonderful idea. The needles which I am currently using are kept in a pincushion which I made years ago. Others are kept in a small tin and really need sorting. I am currently making myself a needlecase so these cards would be ideal for me to sort out my needles and keeping them in a safe place inside my new needlecase.

I use a little plastic case called a needle guard which has magnetic surfaces inside. However, I end up with dozens of odd needles in it and never really know which they are. These needles cards are a fantastic idea – every stitcher should have a set!

If I am not fortunate enough to win a set, I shall have to try to track down a supplier here in Europe.

I don’t know how many times I have had a stray needle and had to resort to putting it in a cup with other stray needles just because I didn’t know what size it was. To try to stop this I starting putting the actual needle package in with what I was embroidering, which became a pain when looking for that particular needle for another project. What a great idea, needle size cards. I wish this was available years ago.

Love the needle ID cards, how useful! My favorite tool is a handmade book of felt pages a good friend made. I keep different sized needles on the pages but quite often get them mixed up, the ID cards would be a great help in keeping my book organized.

My only container is a converted Altoids Mint box. A small square magnet centered on the inside of the lid holds the needle currently in use – quickly available. I pin the other needles in felt pieces, stored in bottom of the tin, with a heavier cardboard piece in a felt sleeve on top (so other needles don’t cling to the magnet. A few odd needles that my mom left me, I keep in the paper sleeves that gum dental picks are sold in. Not the most organized – but, all in one place! Someone put thought into this organizer and I love the idea. Charlotte

OMG…what a great ‘tool’ to have. I have felts, pin cushions, pill bottles and other containers filled with needles (either unidentified types, sizes or both) that are screaming to be sorted. How wonderful it would be to win one of these sets. A great way to spend a HOT NC day!!

Thank you for offering this opportunity! My favourite is a needlebook by Blackbird Designs which I made a couple of years ago, with variegated cotton threads on antique-looking gingham linen – I use it all the time.

My favorite needle holder is one of pink felt decorated with ribbon embroidery flowers and beads made for me by my sister-in-law Kay. It’s credit card size and easy to put in my carryon when I travel. When I’m at the hotel, I take out the insert which holds the needles and I put my room key in it. My key remains safe and easy to find in my purse. Also, it catches people’s attention and I get to share my love for ribbon embroidery. The small felt inside piece contains my favorite needles: all of them since I use them all for beading, brazilian embroidery, ribbon embroidery, etc!

My favorite needleworking tool is the “terribly expensive free tool” that my embroidery instructor crafts. It is a flat peice of stiff plastic plastic (like the thin strapping the comes around boxes or stacks of newspapers). It is about one quarter inch wide and 2 inches long with the last quarter inch folded over.

So, what is it used for? Brazillian embroidery skeins hanging from a paper tab. To prepair them you use, you snip the skein through the knot and across one of the shanks. The you unwind it. You then have one shank of thread slipped through the paper tab with cut thread ends hanging down on each side.

This is where the tool comes in handy. It is just the right size to slip through the paper label, hook one of the shanks and pull it back through, making circle of thread around the label. Then you can steam and store the thread without getting it tangled and keeping it associated with the label. This tool makes the process SO easy. I’ve tried it with a crochet hook, but this little piece of plastic is perfect!

These look fab, and pretty useful – I don’t really have a needle storage system worked out yet, so identifying what I do have would be pretty handy!

I use a little needle book that my mum made for me years ago. I’m also like my magnets – it was a silly Christmas present years ago, a pair of magnets which you can make spin around each other, their main use is finding dropped needles and pins so the floor is safe for my puppy and toddler!

I like to read you, It is easyer to read than to write or to talk as French is my first language. I made a booklet to store my needles. Unfortunately, I often misplace them then it is hard to retrace them. If I win tne Needle ID Cards I will be very happy.
I hope it is not too difficult to read me.

My favorite needle keeper is a little felt book I made from some as and caft website. I have two, one for embroidery needles and one for regular sewing needles. My grand mother loved to give me needles in a pieice of cloth now I have needles that I don’t know what they are for.

I like to keep things simple but have along with other stitchers in my group been frustrated about keeping needles sorted, stra identifying them, and knowing which ones to use for what purpose. I have never seen these cards and have been using little pieces of felt. The ID Cards I am sure would fast become my favorite tool. If I don’t win the draw I will want to buy a set.
Nancy CT

My favorite needlework accessory is a small scissors that I obtained working at an historic site. They are period correct to the 19th century and VERY sharp! Reasonably priced, I now have several pairs stashed in with various projects.

On site, I carry them in my housewife (a small roll up sewing kit). The kit above and an armchair caddy for sewers are also among my favorite things! As I stash needles in both the caddy and housewife with no identification
this tool would be immensely useful and a fun addition to my craft tools.

Oh! I love these! Very handy reference! My favorite needle related item is a little lamb needle nanny that has a strong magnet. It can safely be attached to clothing and is strong enough to attach to the front of a needle book/case.

Honestly, until recently I have been treating my needles pretty poorly. They were scattered hither and yon around the house. So I definitely could use help identifying some of them! I have corraled all the packets into a new Marimekko tin, which looks awesome, but I still need to think about how to handle all the loose ones.

This is going to sound a bit strange but my favourite needle related thing is the cushion that was in the box that my husbands new watch came in! It is a very convenient size – estimate 1 1/2 inches by about 2 1/2 inches – soft and white. I use it as a pin/needle cushion and it works extremely well! And this is why I need to win a set of these cards because my needles get put in my “cushion” and then I have to scratch my head and wonder which is which!! Thank you!! And Happy fourth of July from Canada!

I recently did a blog post on pincushions I had made. On one of the pincushions I added little stick on labels, so I would not get confused on which needle I was needing. A tapestry needle and a crewel needle look so similar, I knew if they were not labeled I would surely be confused. These needle id cards are a wonderful idea. I have lots of orphan needles that could use a name.
Deb

Hi Mary…these are CUTE! Im into cute! my fav little thing I have is a very very old needle case…it is uniquely carved and wooden…I think from Germany and given to me by one of my favorite relatives…I have another needle case made of fabric from an instructor I had once…its just so PRETTY! so u get me at cute and pretty!

These little cards are such a great idea! It’s one of those simple things that makes you say – now why didn’t I think of something like that?

I have two favourite needle related items. The first is the magnets I use to hold my needles on any project I’m working on. The second is the felt pieces that I store my needles on. I have cut them to fit into the top sections of the tackle box I use as a sewing box. It allows me to keep the needles sorted by type.

My absolute favorite place for storing my needles are various egg coddlers that I have collected through the years. When I found my first one years ago, I had no idea what it was but decided that my needles fit into it perfectly. Since then, I have gathered up more of them, each a different pattern from the others, so I have different type needles in the different patterned egg coddlers. They are a handy place to keep my needles safe, sorted and an extra home decor item to display. I LOVE them!

I love these little cards – what a handy help to identifying stray needles. My favourite needle pieces include a collection of turned wood needle case all gifts from special friends or antiques inherited from my Grandmother as well as the cutest little needle book I made earlier this year in my first on line class ever with Susan Elliott.
Thank you for your informative posts and enticing glimpses of special works. My city, in Australia, has just held an exhibition of magnificent ecclesiastical robes. Your piece would have fitted in so well.

I think this would be a great tool to have. I looked on your website thinking that maybe I could order it from you. I never win anything, so I thought I would order it. I could not find it, so I decided to try my luck at your drawing. My favorite needle related tool is a needle book I made. I embroidered a type of needle on every page. If I open a new package of needles, I put the needles on that corresponding page. Of course, I don’t know the size, but I do know the type. Thanks for your daily tips and tricks. What dedication you must have. Becky from Mapleton, Ill.

Greeting from the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia!
Although I am now 67 years old, I am new to embroidery as a craft in it’s own right. I do have though, years of experience in hand quilting.
I would appreciate receiving the needle case as it would help me “start as I mean to go on”!
My ‘favourite’ companion is my old hard cover eye glass case. It safely stores many items that I need in the course of a ‘good sew’ – and it doesn’t break if I sit on it
Thank you for all the information you all share – it’s much appreciated.
CJ

Thank you for your inspiration and knowledge of the art of embroidery. I am learning so much from your website and can’t wait to start embroidering on my granddaughter’s wedding quilt I am making for her. And, with your help and video teachings of the stitches, I will do just fine. The storage of needles is a perfect new product. I never know what size needle I have unless I have the package right beside me. If my needles are bent, I know that they are the ones I use.
Thanks again for your website.
Pamela Brown

What a brilliant idea these cards are. My needles, I am ashamed to admit, are a disorganized mess. The unopened packages are fine but once a needle is taken out of a package and used for a project, it never seems to find it’s way back to the package. Yes, I do have needle cases/books but they rarely seem to make it there either.

While I am working on a project all my supplies for that project are kept together in a some sort of baggie/project bag. The needles that I use generally get left there with the threads until I get around to putting it all back. The thread seems to get back to where it belongs but not so for the poor needles. By that time, I can no longer remember what size or kind it was that I used so they join their compatriots that were used for other projects in a container or pincushion. This all works well until I run out of needles still in the package. When that happens total chaos ensues.

These cards would be a god send for me. If you could include where they can be purchased in a future article, it would be much appreciated. You see, my luck at games of chance is no better than my needle organization skills! 🙂

As for my favourite needle related tool, I would have to say my needle threader. While I don’t use it with every project depending on needle size, etc., when it is required it is truly a time saver.

My favorite needlework tools are scissors. I guess since I got my first pair of left handed shears from my grandmother I have been into scissors. I have special scissors with ridged blades for cutting metal, very pointy sharp scissors for cutting hardanger, sciisors for machine embroidery and on and on. My cuurent favorite are Italian 4″ all black embroidery scissors that I bought at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London–a great place to see lots of needlework!

I like my Namaste Buddy Case for holding needles, threads and some snips on the go. The magnetic part holds the needles very well, I can remove the divider inside if I need more room, and the case doesn’t look at all out of place in my purse. It just feels good in my hands, and I’ve given away a couple to stitch friends packed with supplies as gifts.

I thought maybe I could ask a question here as to where Needle I.D. Cards can be purchased. I have searched everywhere. I did post a comment earlier, so I will not post it again. I wanted to buy some for myself and friends. Thanks for any direction. Becky from Mapleton, Ill.

I love these needle cards – I have been wondering how on earth to find out what size many of my needles are as they are all jumbled together in an old typewriter ribbon case.
My favourite needle accessory at the moment is a magnetic ‘plaque’ for keeping my needle on whilst I am sewing. I am using it on the silk shading sampler(your 9 lessons – which I am finding extremely helpful) and I am really loving learning this technique.

I love the simplicity of those cards! I must confess that I have a stash of needles that I haven’t a clue as to their origin, brand, name, or purpose. These have been collected through the years and are stored in a wallet size gift box that is lined with a magnet. Needles for a current project are stored in a little tin that I put in the Project Tote Bag. One of these days I’ll organize that stash!

These are wonderful! I am constantly trying to either ‘find’ the right needle or figure out what type it is. These would be a great help for organization!!
My favorite needle accessories are the various types of threaders. Some of the threads are quite difficult to get through the eye, so I need all the help I can get. 🙂

HI Mary!! My preferred needle related tool is the needle and thread organizer from PAKO. I use to work on projects that use many color and the Pako organizer is the best tool for that kind of projects, plus is easy to store and carry.
I think the needles cards are very helpful and handy for any stitcher 🙂

Wow!! I am so excited to look at this ID post!!
Few months back, i had asked a friend-blogger who is very talented on how to choose which needle for which type of stitch!! if not the winner, at least i will request the winner to post the details of the usage printed on the cards. This will be so useful for learner like me!!

My current favorite is a needle case that was made by a friend in my guild. The problem is that all my needles are mixed together on the felt pages so this new kit would be a wonderful addition that would allow me to organize my needle collection.

Storing and identifying needles? A problem I have wrestled with like forever! I finally decided I was going to make a clever needle case so I needed wool for the needles. I stopped at Pendleton Woolen Mills in Pendleton, Oregon to check out the wool for the needle case, and ended up buying forty (40) pounds of wool ends.
I could be making needle cases for a very long time. I like Bohin needles but most of all I like to know where, what type and for what thread my needles are.

My favorite “needle thing” is my thimble…but I keep my needles in a self made ultrasuede book where I have sewn in flannel pages to hold the needles. Size abour 4″ x 4″ Old fashioned I know but has worked well for many, many years. However, I like your idea better and am going now to see if I can find a place to buy them. (on the internet, of course…this cyber Grandie is spoiled!}

I like best of all my grab and go box of tools. I have a small plastic box with dividers set up with everything I need to do my stitchery on the go. It’s always ready so I can grab my fabric and the box and I’m ready to stitch anyplace.

Mary, This time you have an impossible task! I would just like to know where I can just purchase the ID cards. Had no luck on my online search. Please help when you have a chance to respond. Thanks! Carol

Hi, Carol – You can find them at the shops listed in the article above: Hedgehog Handworks (in California) and 3 Stitches (in Texas). Both shops have online stores, but the cards aren’t on their websites yet, so you might have to contact them to order them. Hedgehog would probably be the easiest way to get them, because they send Paypal Invoices. Anyway, if you check with either shop, I’m sure they’ll help you out! ~MC

These needle cards are total genius and I can’t believe no one else has thought of them. What a handy tool – and cute too! They sure thought of everything when they designed these.

My favorite sewing tool is the little sewing box my mom made for me for christmas one year. It has needles (with these cards I can help to identify which ones they are!), thread, scissors, pins, etc. Of all the sewing stuff I have around, this is something I pull out almost daily. If I had to pick one item it would be my scissors. 🙂

Mary, I love this article on Stitch Samplers and I think your samplers are so lovely they could be framed and put in a sewing room, craft studio or wherever. They also look like they would make darling covers for small pillows. Glad to see things a beginner can do. I wish so much I had cooperated as a young teen when my Mother wanted to teach me to sew. I’m already trying to interest my grand-daughters in needle projects. Thank you

Hi Mary, this is Lisette in Oregon:) Needles are one of my passions! When I pick up a needle, I feel a sense of purpose, and a sense of promise and excitement! I have my needles on squares of felt, with the type of needle written on the white felt, and then the needles are tucked into a baggie, and into a special box. I would love to own a nice set of needles, and such a smart little case to keep them in! I am a hands on kind of person, and I love tools like these:)I have several tools at hand when I create with my needles, such as “Thread Heaven”, the silicone you run your threads through, but I also like to jab my needle into once or twice, and it helps the needle to smoothly glide into the fabric, (I rarely use it on my threads). I also have a special pair of tweezers which are designed for scrapbooking, but which are my very most helpful tool for grabbing the needle in tight spots. I also keep a pair of pliers designed for jewelry work with smooth flat jaws which do a surprisingly great job grabbing the needle without marking it up. (I never use any tool with teeth on my needles). So, I am excited at this give-away! Thanks for the chance to not only win needles, but also to share our passions!

My favourite needle related accessory is a ‘needle grabber’. They are small plasticy ovals – usually in blue. Wrap one around a needle to help get it through a tough ground – whether it’s a build up of threads at the back in goldwork, or getting the needle through kid. They work like a charm! And they are really cheap as well.

Hi, Megan – the shops that carry them right now are linked to in the article. They’re both in the US – Hedgehog and 3Stitchs. The cards just came out at last month’s TNNA market, so I’m sure they’ll eventually become more widely available. -MC

My deplorable needle-sorting device is a magnet! I have really learned to appreciate the importance of needles as I learn more about the needle arts. This kneedle keeper would be perfect.
PS Maybe I could embroider a cute outer case for it???

My sister made a small stitched piece that she made into a small zippered bag. It is just the right size for sissors and some needles to carry with my other sewing stuff. I also have a few cloth coin purses that I use for needlework. I put needles, sissors, thimbles buttons and threads in them. I think they work great.

Mornin’ Mary!
I usually have an altoids box (with a stitched top, of course) that I use for needles. I put magnets inside to hold them, or a small pin cushion. Recently at the airport I found a tin that is the same width but longer so my scissors fit. I bought the candy for the box so I could use it for my scissors and needles! It is now my favorite- I have small jeweled magnets inside the lid to put needles, and felt on the inside bottom to hold needles, etc.

How many of you have a “Soft Touch Thread Pic” by Clover? It is very comfortable in your hand, has the tinyest hook on the end, is well made and very smooth – nothing to catch your threads on. I use it for pulling catching and pulling threas below other threas, tying tiny knots, and as a laying tool. Your tool box is not complete until you have one of these. It is my favorite and I’m thinking about getting another one – you know just in case the current one goes missing.

Love to have this businesscard. It is something you have to have as a stitcher, like an IT-er wants to have the latest version of word or an applefan wants to have the newest phone 🙂
I have no favourite needlecontainer, but I make myself needlecases almost every new project I start to keep the needles and pins belonging to that project well together. As I reed this back I think it is a little bit odd, but I enjoy making needlecases so no sweat.

Not exciting, but a great necessity – my sturdy, dependable Clover seam ripper. I use it through a wide range of needle activities from sewing to crewel to silk embroidery, as well as the countless times one needs that great little point throughout the house. Sometimes I make mistakes and sometimes I just change my mind and there it is – my seam ripper. I couldn’t live without it.

Oh Mary! These are perfect & the timing is great! Our stitch group is doing “Christmas in July” next month. I’ve GOT to have some of these!!! (for myseelf too)

I have to admit that some of my favorite needlework tools are the pin cushions I’ve made. As a quilter I’ve found my fabric scraps make up beautifully. My favorite needles are the Bohin needles. I can never have too many. Have tried so many others & keep going back to Bohin.

Thanks for the wonderful opportunity to win these cards. Also for your fantastic site. I look forward to it every day & have learned so much.

Happy 4th of July Mary! These little needle I.D. cards are great. I have to say that my needle threader is my best needle related tool. Without it I wouldn’t be doing any stitching at all. I keep all of my needles in the original paper folders they come in and stacked inside a small plastic container inside of my stitching box. I would love to win the cards because I could identify and keep the proper needles in place instead of some that are wondering around wildly in my stitching box! Thanks again for a fun contest and great information to know about this new product.
Mary Ann

I love the round tube needle cases made of wood so I can write the needle size on them in marker to keep my needles organized at home. When working on something on road, I like a magnetized holder so my needles don’t get lost. These cards would be great to just toss in my bag with said holder because they are about the same size. Thank you!